Long Lost Sibling
by Thia4stories
Summary: Mogami Kyoko has an older brother! But how did that happened?
1. Proloque

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character. But I love reading the manga.

**Long Lost Sibling**

Prologue:

"That's her! It's Akiko, Otou-san!"

"Are you sure Haruki? Are you sure she's your long lost sister?" Yamamoto Haruto asked his 25 years old son.

"I'm sure Otou-san. Just look at her eyes. It's the same colour as mine and okaa-san. You and I both know that our eye colour is not very common."

"She does look a lot like your mother when she was 17 years old, If you stare at her long enough." The 48 years old Haruto commented while still staring at his huge flat screen T.V. He was watching a copy of Kyurara commercial, that Haruki had shown him, for 3rd time. The moment that the face of the short haired girl came on the screen he pressed pause. Staring into her golden eyes he can see why his son was so sure this is his missing daughter. "How did you stumble upon this commercial anyway? You don't watch T.V."

"Well, our new resort in Okinawa needed to be advertise, so I asked my friend Ushio for some advice."

"Kurosaki Ushio? The director?"

"Yes. He said the best advertising media is T.V. He suggested a commercial coupled with a competition with a grand price of an all paid weekend to our resort will make people..."

"Yes, yes, yes I'll leave you to deal with those things. What I want to know is how you got this CM." Haruto stated impatiently.

"I was getting to that Otou-san. Anyway as I was saying Ushio suggested a CM and he wanted to use this actress that impressed him so much. He showed this to me. First I thought he's talking about the long haired girl, but he meant the short haired one. When I first saw her I thought she looked familiar but I just dismissed the feeling, that was until yesterday. I was at our library getting a book I needed when I saw this."

Haruki handed his father an old photo album. In the first page was a picture of Yamamoto Haruto and his late wife Yamamoto Akemi.

"Hey this is my graduation picture. Your Okaa-san was so proud that I graduated early. I was only 21 in this picture and your Kaa-san was 17. Time really flies doesn't it?" he said reminiscing old times.

"Yes Otou-san. But back to the topic at hand, look at the picture and the girl on the screen." Haruto looked at the girl on his screen and looked down at his wife's picture and back again.

"You're right. If that girl had a long black hair instead of short copper one you would think they're the same person."

"Or at least twins. Even their smiles are the same."

"So, when do I meet her?" Haruto asked excitedly.

"Not yet Otou-san. We cannot just walk up to her and tell her she's part of our family."

"You're right. So what are you proposing to do?"

"Well, Director Korosaki and I decided to hire her for our CM. Tomorrow Ushio has an appointment at LME to discuss our offer with her. Then we'll take it from there."

Haruto stated looking through the photo album again. "I wish your mother was still alive." He sighed.

"I know Tou-san. I wish that too. But if my intuition's right then at least we can have Akiko back." At that statement both father and son looked at the screen.

A/N: This is my first Fanfic. Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

Chapter 1

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Mogami Kyoko rushed to pick up her vibrating phone that she placed on top of her dresser upon entering her room after taking her bath. She looked at the small screen to check the caller ID. A big smile formed on her lips when she saw that it's from a private number.

"Moshi moshi" She said enthusiastically.

"Hello Mogami-san." A familiar voice answered. But not the familiar voice she was expecting to hear. Her smile faltered.

"Good evening Sawara-san. How may I help you this evening?" Kyoko as ever politely asked.

"Well, Mogami-san, I forgot to tell you that director Kurosaki called today and scheduled a meeting with you tomorrow at 8:00am in my office regarding a new offer for a CM. I did check your schedule before making the appointment. I hope it hasn't change from this morning till now."

"Nope, It hasn't. Thank you for letting me know. Is there anything else Sawara-san?"

"No, that's all Mogami-san. I'll see tomorrow."

"Hai, I'll see you then Sawara-san. Have a pleasant evening." With that last remark Kyoko put her phone down and resume what she was doing before her phone rang which was reading her script for tomorrows taping.

At half past nine, her phone started vibrating again. A quick check on the screen and a smile on her lips, she answered her phone with an enthusiastic "moshi moshi." This time the voice on the other line didn't disappoint her.

"Good evening Kyoko-chan. How are you today?" A sweet baritone voice asked.

"I'm fine. How about you? Did you just finish your shoot?"

"I'm good too. And no, the photo shoot hasn't finished yet. We're on a 15mins break. It's going to be another hour or so before we can all go home. I wanted to call you before it gets too late."

"I see. Have you had your dinner yet?"

Ren chuckled before answering. "Yes I have. Before you ask, let me answer you already. I did eat something healthy. The company I'm modelling for provided bentos for everyone on the set. And just to let you know I finished my bento. You can even ask Yashiro if you don't believe me."

"Ok Ren-san, I believe you." Ren smiled broadly upon hearing her say his name. It was toward the end of their time together as the Heel siblings when he finally convinced Kyoko to call him by his first name, stating that they spent so much time together that it is just natural for them to start calling each other by their first name. She was hesitant in the beginning but now she's very at ease saying his name. It still gives him thrills hearing her say it.

"You said you start work at 10:30 tomorrow right?" Ren asked. He was planning on asking her to have breakfast with him since he doesn't have work until 11:00. Yashiro didn't schedule anything for him in the morning so he can recuperate from all the late night jobs he has been doing lately, according to Yashiro. But he has his doubt. After all, his ever so reliable manager likes coordinating his schedule with Kyoko's schedule whenever possible. Not that he's complaining. He gets more time to spend with Kyoko that way. But it sometimes frustrate him the way Yashiro pushes him to the girl he loves when she's not ready to accept his feelings yet.

"Well, I was supposed to. But Sawara-san called and informed me about a meeting he scheduled with Director Kurosaki tomorrow at 8. Apparently the Director wants to speak to me about an offer for his new CM. I don't know the details yet, but If it is Director Kurosaki's CM I'm sure it's going to be great. After all, he directed my first CM."

"Is the meeting going to be at LME?"

"Yes"

"Then can I offer you my services to drive you there in the morning?"

"I don't want to inconvenience you Ren-san."

"Kyoko-chan," he said exasperated "I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to do it. Plus tomorrow I have to pick up Yashiro at LME. He said he has to pick up some stuff at his office. So I'll just swing by your place to pick you up. Is that alright?"

"Ok then." Kyoko heard a knock coming from the other end of the line fallowed by the faint voice of Yashiro saying "Ren, It's time to go back."

"I have to go back now. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7:30."

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Ren-san, and drive carefully on the way home."

"Goodnight Kyoko-chan. Sweet dreams" He answered "I love you." He whispered really softly, and then kissed his phone silently before disconnecting the call.

Kyoko stared at her phone for a few more minutes. 'Did he say I Love You?' Kyoko thought. 'No, it couldn't have been that. I must be hearing things.' She dismissed those alarming thoughts. She went to lie down on her futon, ready to go to sleep, when she started thinking about how easy and comfortable her conversations with Ren lately. A few months ago, if someone told her that she'd be talking to Ren like old friends, she would have told them they're crazy. But now it feels weirder when she does hear his voice before going to bed. It's just part of her daily routine now. Her day wouldn't be complete without saying goodnight to her beloved Senpai. How did that happened? Kyoko thought back, just after finishing her 'dangerous mission' as Satsu Heel she started feeling empty. She supposed that she got used to having Ren around so much after spending months with him as his sister. She started missing their time together. She missed how they'd say goodnight to each other just before going to bed, how he'd be the last person she sees before closing her eyes at night and the first person she sees in the morning. Cooking him breakfast and watching him enjoy what she made. She missed their argument when they disagree on some things, his puppy dog eyes when he's trying to win an argument. Their conversations about anything and everything. She even missed the way he spoiled her. All the clothes he had bought her during that time are neatly hanging in her small closet. He insisted that she kept them after or else they would all go to waste. He argued that he won't be wearing them. Not wanting to waste money she reluctantly accepted the gifts. She still wears most of them. She just had to dress them down a bit to suit Mogami Kyoko's style.

The week following the end of their time together Kyoko was feeling incomplete, until Ren phoned her. After a week of not hearing his voice and not seeing his face, Kyoko welcomed the relief and comfort she felt upon hearing his voice again. Then and there Kyoko realised and accepted that Ren is very special to her. Though she would not accept and admit to herself that she's really in love with him, because every time she loves someone she ended up losing them. And Ren is far more important to her and she believes that she won't be able to live on if ever she loses him.

At first Ren only called twice a week. Then gradually it increased to three times a week. Then every other day. Eventually the calls came everyday. Even on days that they see each other, he still calls at night to say goodnight. Or on nights that he drives her home, he calls as soon as he gets home just to let her know that he got home safely.

Kyoko drifted into a restless sleep dreaming of all the people she loved and left her in return. It start with Corn, her fairy prince. She loved him and still love him even if they just spent a little time together, but he left. Though it's not his fault that he has to go back to his world but the point is she loved him and he's not with her anymore. Then her Okaa-san. She tried her best to please her because she loved her but nothing she ever did was good enough and in the end she left her. Then Sho, who she thought was her prince. She gave her whole heart to him on a silver platter but he crushed it into pieces and threw her away.

She woke-up to the sound of her alarm. Kyoko sat up and thought about her dream. She would not let that happen again. Not with Ren. 'I'll just be happy having him as my special friend.' She thought. "I'm not ganna fall in love with him" she said out loud strengthening her resolution. She got up to get ready before her ride comes.

It's 7:25 when Ren stopped in from of Daruma-ya, where Kyoko is currently staying. He got out of his car and knocked on the door. The Okami-san answered it.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu Tsuruga-san"

"Ohayou Gozaimasu Okami-san" Ren greeted the elder woman with a little bow. "I'm here to pick Kyoko-chan this morning."

"Ah yes. She just went back up stairs to get her bag. She should be down in a minute." As if on cue Kyoko appeared on top of the stairs and started descending gracefully.

She gave Ren a one of her dazzling smile as soon as she saw him. And she was rewarded with one of his own bright smile in return.

"Good morning Kyoko-chan. You look lovely today." He said. And she does look lovely wearing a simple, yellow summer dress that stop just above her knee. Her hair was held behind her ears by two hair pins each side. She was holding her white ballet flats in her left hand and her white shoulder bag on her right.

"Thank you Ren-san" A faint blush spread across her cheeks making her look radiant. 'At least she's learning how to take compliment.' Ren thought.

"We should get going Kyoko-chan if you don't want to be late."

"Ok. Bye Okami-san. I'll see you tonight." With a bow and a wave they left the Daruma-ya.

In the car they started talking about the new job Kyoko was about to be offered, playing a guessing game of what the CM will be about.

"Maybe a new perfume? Or make-up?" Ren said.

"A new drink again?" Kyoko guess.

"A new food chain? I had to film one a while back. I had to eat 4 burgers before the director was satisfied with my expression" Wrinkling his nose. "I'll never want to do that again."

Kyoko squinted her eyes at Ren and then asked "Speaking of food. Have you had your breakfast yet?"

Ren slightly grimaced 'Uh-oh' he thought 'Now I've done it. I shouldn't have mention food in front of her.'

She didn't need hear his answer, judging by his expression and his silence, the answer is no.

"Reeennn" she sighed exasperated. She was so disconcerted that she forgot to add the Honorific at the end of his name. She started he lecture about the importance of eating breakfast.

Ren on the other hand was thrilled that she left out the honorific from his name. He was thinking how he love to hear her say his name again with that tone. He didn't hear the rest of what she was saying until se said "Stop right there!" Huh? What happened why does she want him to stop?

"Kyoko-chan? Why did you want me to stop?"

"You weren't listening to me, we you Ren?" She glared at him.

There, she said it again, his name without honorific. Ahhh music to his ears. She was still glaring at him, so he gave her a sheepish smile and said "Sorry Kyoko-chan I was concentrating on driving. What were you saying again?"

"Concentrating. Yeah right." She said under her breath. Then she added "I said we should stop right there." She pointed at a cafe nearby. "So we can buy you breakfast."

He looked at the clock on his dashboard and said "Sorry my dear but we just don't have time to stop right now if you want to make it to your appointment."

Kyoko looked down at her wrist watch and saw that it is already 7:45. Dejected, she had to admit that Ren was right but she's not about to give up. She's going to make Ren eat breakfast no matter what.

"Fine" she said. "But as soon as we get to LME, you're marching straight to L.A. hearts and getting yourself a decent breakfast. I don't care if you eat western style or Japanese style but you're eating something." She commanded. Ren was amused by her tone. But she wasn't finish yet. "And just to make sure that you did buy something I want you to take a picture of what you bought and send it to me. Then take another picture of the plate after you eat and send that to me too."

Ren was shocked at her determination to make sure he eats. But he still want to spend more time with her and he can use this to his advantage. So made another suggestion.

"Kyoko-chan, what if I wait for you to finish your meeting then we can go together to one of the cafes nearby."

"But, don't you have to a job to do this morning?"

"I do. But I don't have to start until 11." He said calmly.

"But if you don't have to start until 11 then what are you doing out now?"

"Driving you to LME." He answer.

"Ren- san?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you lie to me about picking up Yashiro-san at LME?" She asked while gritting her teeth.

"No, I really do have to pick up Yashiro at LME. He'll be there at 9. Come on Kyoko-Chan come with me to have breakfast. Please?" Ren unleashing his ultimate weapon, his puppy dog eyes.

"Please?" he said again.

"Oh, alright!" She finally agreed. Who can resist that look?

They arrived at LME with 10 mins to spare before her appointed meeting.

A/N: This is bit a long chapter and probably a bit boring. I just want to establish the progress of Kyoko and Ren's relationship. It is essential for the readers to understand how close Kyoko and Ren had become for me to build up the story from there.

Next chapter: Kyoko will meet her brother for the first time.

Thank you to all the people who started reading my story. I await you review and comments. May it be good or bad, I can always learn from guys.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

Chapter 2

Ren and Kyoko arrived at LME's underground parking with 10 mins to spare. He then parked his car into his designated reserved parking space. They exited the car and walked side by side towards the elevator.

"Where are you staying while waiting for me?" Kyoko asked. The elevator door opened and they stepped in it. Ren pressed to the button to 5th floor and they started to ascend.

"I'll go to Yushiro's office and study my script. It should be empty right now." Ren likes studying his script when he's alone, unless he's with Kyoko. On occasions that they do study scripts together, they like to play a game where Kyoko will read and act all the female parts in the script and Ren will do all the male parts. There was this one time when she was acting out a conversation between a mother and her daughter, Ren was amaze how quick and flawless she can change from one character to the other. Sometimes when they get bored they would swap. Ren will do the female characters and Kyoko the males. The very first time they did this, Kyoko ended up on the floor, in stitches laughing her head off when Ren had to act out a police officer undercover as a prostitute. He was supposed seduce Kyoko's character by walking up to his sexily it says in the script. When Ren tried to swing his hips as he walk, Kyoko couldn't help but laugh at his funny antics.

The elevator door opened when they reached ground floor and a tall hoodlum looking guy with many piercing stepped into the lift. Ren unconsciously step closer to Kyoko as if to shield her from the dangerous looking guy. But Kyoko stepped forward and said "Director Kurosaki-san, Ohayou gozaimasu." And she bowed slightly.

"Ohayou Kyoko-san. Ohayou Tsuruga-san. You probably didn't know me because I haven't had the pleasure of working with the number 1 most desirable man in Japan. My name is Kurosaki Ushio" Kurosaki extended his hand in front of Ren.

"Ohayou Director Kurosaki-san. We've never met personally but I've heard about your work. Even Kyoko-san talks highly of you." Ren took the director's hand and shook it.

Kyoko slightly blush and said "Of course I think highly of him! He's an excellent director and I'm really grateful that he gave an opportunity to work with him."

This time it's the director's turn to blush. "Well Kyoko-san you earned that yourself. You have proven worthy of being in that CM during the auditions, so you got the job."

The elevator door opened and they all stepped out and started walking down the hallway. When they reach the fifth door to the right Ren stopped and turned to the director.

"It was nice meeting you Director Kurosaki."

"Likewise."

"Kyoko-san I'll see you after your meeting."

"I'll meet you down here Tsuruga-san" Even though Kyoko is comfortable addressing Ren by his first name, she still uses his last name whenever they are in front of other people who's not close to them.

To the employees of LME, this kind of conversation between Ren and Kyoko is very common. They are all very used to it. But Director Kurosaki is not a LME employee and he's very curious of their relationship.

"You must be very close to Tsuruga-san." He said as they continue to walk down the hall towards Sawara's office.

"Hai. Tsuruga-san is my respected Senpai. He helps and guides me with my acting. I usually practice lines with him."

They reached Sawara's office. Kyoko knocked on the open door to let the manager know of their presence.

"Ohayou Detector Kurosaki-san, Mogami-san! Come in and have a sit."

"Ohayou Sawara-san." Both Kyoko and the director said at the same time. Both of them took a sit.

"Director I understand from your call yesterday that you are making another CM and you wanted Mogami-san to take part in it.

"Hai, that is right Sawara-san. I have here the first draft of the script here with me." He handed Kyoko one copy and gave the other copy to Sawara. "This is a commercial for a resort in Okinawa. I'll give you a few minutes to read through the script then I'll explain in details."

While Kyoko was looking through the script, the young director took this opportunity to study the young actress. She is not overly pretty unlike some actresses he had worked with, but there is something about her aura that makes her look radiant and pure. She also looked a bit more mature now than when she did the Kyurara CM almost a year ago. He decided that her best features were her eyes. She's got beautiful eyes, they're golden brown and expressive. And at the moment they're full of concentration.

It takes a lot to impress Kurosaki Ushio but Kyoko had done it. In fact from the very first day, when he heard her encourage her best friend Kotonami Kanae not to give up on her dream, he was in awe with this girl's determination. During the audition, he was so amazed on how quickly came up with new material when her idea was stolen. What strike him the most is how talented she really is, she makes her characters seems so real that you cannot help but fear her Mio and fall prey to the charm of her Natsu. But despite all her achievements, after meeting her again today, it seems to him she still remained as humble as she was when he first worked with her. And this made her more admirable to him.

Kyoko closed the script in her hand to indicate that she has finished reading it. Sawara did the same thing. Kurosaki taking their actions as the cue to start explaining said "As I said before this is a CM for a resort in Okinawa. I'll give you an overview first of the resort before explaining the CM to have a better understanding of what we want to portray in the commercials. Yakiko hotel resort is attached to the beach and because of this all sorts of water sports are available via the resort. Fishing, boating, canoeing, scuba diving, surfing, snorkelling, water skiing you name it, they have it there. If you're not interested in water sports they also have a Tennis court, golfing course, miniature golf for kids, a trail for bike riding or you can play beach volleyball. For people who doesn't like swimming in salt water, they have a couple of private pools, indoor and outdoor, which is available for guest. They also have spa facilities. Which offer different types of massages and a sauna is also available. For people who love to shop, there are various shops and boutiques around the hotel. There is also a grocery store near the hotel in case you want to cook some of you meals. Every hotel room has a kitchenette provided. The hotel has 280 rooms, 20 apartments and 4 penthouses. The hotel also caters for different functions like wedding receptions, corporate meetings and parties and conventions. There are also different restaurants surrounding the hotel which serves different dishes. The biggest one is a five star French restaurant located in the hotel. They also have Italian restaurant, Japanese teppanyaki, steak house, seafood restaurant and even an ice cream parlour. I think that's about everything the resort provides."

Kyoko was in awe which showed in her eyes. She just couldn't believe that there is a facility in Japan that provides everything she heard. But then again she hasn't travelled a lot so she wouldn't really know how big different hotels and resort can get. She's only been to Kyoto, Tokyo and one occasion at Karuizawa while filming Dark Moon. The Director just smiled at her reaction.

"Now I can explain the concept of the CM." He continued. "There will be four commercials in total. The first one is the script you read. A family of four wants to go on a summer holiday. They are deciding for a destination. The problem is, everyone has different things they want to do. The father wants to go to a place where he could go fishing or golfing. The mother wants to experience tasting different types of cuisines. The brother wants to go surfing and Akane, 16yrs old, the youngest of the family just wants to sit by the water and relax. Akane sees a brochure of the Yakiko resort and they all read through it and decides to go there. In this CM we'll be promoting the golf course, restaurants, water activities and the pools. The second CM, Akane, 20yrs old, goes to university. After a stressful time studying for a test she just had, she and her 2 best friends decided to go on a weekend trip to unwind. Akane suggested the resort her family went to. They get to the resort on a Friday night they went straight to their suite. Next day they do various activities around the resort. Bike riding, shopping, tennis and massages. The night before the leave the go to a club nearby and Akane meets a guy. This will promote the hotel rooms, different sports available, shopping district, spas and the club. Third CM, Akane 23 yrs old, working in an office. Her company booked the resort for a work convention. At the same time her boyfriend of 3 yrs, which is the guy she met in the previous CM was there for other convention. Her boyfriend goes into the jewellery shop near the hotel and buys something. They have dinner at the French restaurant located at the hotel and he proposed to her. That promotes the Convention rooms, the jewellery shops and the restaurant in the hotel. The last CM is the wedding. That will show the Spa facilities that Akane uses to get pampered before the wedding and the actual ballroom where the wedding reception will be. The actual scripts for the other three CM should be finished by the end of this week." Kurosaki handed another A4 size envelope to Sawara.

"Inside is the formal offer and contract for the CM." Sawara opened the envelope and stated reading the contents.

"Everything looks fine with the contract. If Mogami-san accepts the part then we can do the actual contract signing." Sawara said. Both men turned to Kyoko.

"I accept." Is all she that said because in her mind she's already creating her character Akane.

"That's good then." Sawara said. He handed Kyoko a pen to sign the contract.

"I guess that's it for today. I will send the rest of the script as soon as they're finished. And we can schedule the filming. If possible I want to start within the next two weeks. The resort will open to the public next month but they are taking bookings now. I would like to shoot the commercial while the resort is free from guest. "

* * *

><p>Ren was reading his script when the door knob turned and the door open. He looked up to see his manager staring at him with a shock expression.<p>

"Ren! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Kyoko." Yashiro exclaimed.

'I knew it' Ren thought. 'He didn't schedule anything this morning not because he wanted me to recuperate.'

"I'm waiting for Kyoko. She's inside Sawara-san's office in a meeting with Director Kurosaki-san. We're having breakfast after her meeting, would you like to come?" Ren answered nonchalantly.

"I see. No, I already had breakfast thanks for the offer though." Yashiro placed his bag on his table and started sorting some of the scripts and offers for Ren into a neat file. "The meeting must have been scheduled yesterday afternoon because when I checked her schedule yesterday morning she was still free until 10:30." He muttered to himself.

Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Ren looked at the clock on top of the door, it says 8:45. 'It must be Kyoko' he thought. He got up and opened the door.

"Ren! You're here." The President said "where's Mogami-Kun?"

"She's still in Sawara-san's Office." Yashiro answered for Ren. "Ren is waiting for her so they can have breakfast together after her meeting." Yashiro continued to inform the President. This annoyed Ren but he let it go.

"Oh the meeting still going? I'll go and check." With that remark the eccentric President turned and walk down the hall.

* * *

><p>In Sawara's office everybody stood up. Kyoko thank both men and bowed to them. While both men bowed back to her and shook each other's hand. When Kyoko opened the door to exit the room, she found herself looking at the chest of a pirate. She stepped back and found Takarada Lory, President of LME, standing in front of her with his right hand raised as if he is about to knock. Today he is dressed up as a pirate complete with a sword, eye patch and even a live parrot on his shoulder.<p>

"Ohayou President." Kyoko greeted him and gave him a bow.

"Ohayou Mogami-kun, Director Kurosaki-san, Sawara-san. Is your meeting finished?" He enquired.

"Hai" Kyoko said.

"I see. Did you accept the part?"

"Hai"

"That's good. Then I'll let you go now. The person who is waiting for you is probably starving by now."

Kyoko blush a little. She said goodbye to everyone in the room, walked out into the hallway and walked down toward Yashiro's office where Ren is waiting for her.

Ren opened the door again when he heard another knock. This time he found Kyoko standing in the hallway. He smile at her and asked "All done?" she nodded.

Ren walk back in the room to get his hat and sunglasses, while Kyoko followed him inside. Yashiro looked up from his sorting to greet Kyoko.

"Ohayou Yashiro-san. Ren-san and I are going downstairs to get breakfast, or should I say I'm going with him to make sure he eats breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

"No thank you Mogami-san. I already ate breakfast. Plus I need to finish sorting these scripts before presenting them to Ren. You two go and enjoy yourselves."

"Ok then, we'll see you later Yashiro-san."

The two stars caught the lift down to ground floor. They we going to go in L. but saw that the weather is nice and decided go and walk to a cafe nearby. They both put on their sunglasses and Ren pulled his hat down a bit lower as to hide his face as they exited the building. They were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't notice the tall, handsome man in a grey suit following them. When reached the cafe they requested to be given them a table near the back. Ren sat facing the wall and Kyoko opposite him. They ordered their food then continued their conversation. Kyoko was telling Ren about the meeting. Repeating Director Kurosaki's description of the resort and the details of the upcoming commercials that she'll be filming. Kyoko's face was so animated in describing everything and Ren was enjoying watching her. But Ren was not the only one watching the actress.

The man in the grey suit sat few a tables away from the stars just to make sure they don't notice him. From where he's sitting he had the perfect view of the young actress' face. He'd left his sunglasses on and held a newspaper in front of him, pretending to be reading it when he was really watching her. Like Ren he's enjoying all her facial expression. He decided that he wants to meet the young actress now. He took his phone out of his breast pocket and dialled a number. It rang 5 times then his call was diverted to the voicemail. He left a message.

"Ushio, where are you? Call me back as soon as you get this message."

A few minutes past and he tried the number again. After being diverted to the voicemail again, He left another message.

"Ushio, this is an emergency! Call me back at once!"

After ringing the same number over and over again, the owner of the phone finally answered.

"What the hell are you doing Haruki, calling me every minute?"

"I'll explain later. Right now I need you to go to a cafe called "Black cup". It's next to LME building."

"What the hell are you doing there?"

"I told you I'll explain later. Just harry up and get here before they leave."

"Who's they?"

"Ushio!"

"Ok, I'm on my way."

Director Kurosaki entered the elevator and the connection got dropped. He placed his phone into his pocket and pressed G. As soon as he got out of the building, his phone rang again.

"Why are you so impatient? I'll be there in 3 mins."

"Harry up! They're paying the bill and they'll be leaving soon."

Kurosaki arrived at the cafe as the two stars are preparing to leave. He saw his friend and walk towards him. He sat on the chair in front of Haruki and asked "What is the emergency?"

"That's Kyoko-san right?" Haruki asked looking towards the girl at the back. Ushio looked back and then nodded to his friend. "Can you introduce us?"

"What? You called me just to introduce you? Are you a crazy fan now?"

"Sshh! They're coming this way. Can you just please do it? I promise I'll explain later." Haruki begged.

Ushio looked at his friend and sighed. As Kyoko and Ren walked past their table, he called out to them.

"Hello again Kyoko-san and Tsuruga-san"

"Oh! Hello Director Kurosaki-san. Sorry I did see you as I walked past." She apologised.

"That's alright I had my back turned. By the way this is my friend Yamamoto Haruki. He is actually the owner of the Yakiko resort. Yamamoto-san this is the young actress who's going to do the CM for the resort, Kyoko-san and this is Tsuruga Ren."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kyoko-san and pleasure to meet you Tsuruga-san." Haruki got up and bowed to Kyoko and Ren.

"It's nice to meet you too." Ren said watching the young man stare at Kyoko.

"It's nice to meet you too Yamamoto-san. Thank you for hiring me." Kyoko bow to the man. As she raised her head she notice the time. "I don't really mean to be rude but I need to go now. I have to be at the studio by 10:30."

"No, that's fine." Haruki said. "We'll see you later."

Kyoko bowed again and exited the cafe with Ren.

Kurosaki watched his friend fallow the teen actress with his eyes until he couldn't see her anymore.

"I hope you're not planning on cheating on Nanami."

"Are you serious? You know I would never do that. I love you sister too much. Plus she'd skin me and bury me alive." Haruki took his sunglasses off.

"Then why the sudden interest in Mogami Kyoko?" Haruki looked up at his friend upon hearing his question. As soon as Kurosaki saw Haruki's golden brown eyes, he had an epiphany. "Haruki, do you...?" He didn't even have finish his question.

"Yes, I think she's Akiko." Haruki answered.

"How? Why? I mean Akiko died 13yrs ago didn't she? Why would you think she's Akiko? Well I guess I know the answer to that. The eyes."

"It's not only her eyes, Ushio. Look at this." Haruki handed him a picture of his mother. "She looks exactly like Okaa-san. And I have this gut feeling that it's really her. I don't want to hope and end up disappointed but it's hard to ignore the uncanny resemblance." The two friends fell silence for a few minutes each lost in his own thoughts. Kurosaki broke the silence first.

"What are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at work? How did you ended up in the same cafe as those two?"

Haruki looked sheepish . "I was really anxious to know if she accepted the offer so I came to LME to wait for you to come out. I was just going to stay in the car but I got bored, so I went in the lobby. While I was waiting there I saw them come out of the elevator and headed towards here. I was curious so I followed them." He explained. "Who's the guy with her? Is that her boyfriend?"

Kurosaki laughed and answered his friend. "Are you already acting like a protective older brother when we're not yet really sure she's Akiko? No, he's not the boyfriend... YET. But I really hope your intuition is right. It would be great to find Akiko alive. Your dad would be really happy."

"I know. Come on let go to work." Haruki paid for his coffee and the two friends exited the cafe.

Author's Note;

Sorry if there's any typos. I wanted to post this before the weekend. If you see any mistakes please let me know, I'll fix any them later. Please enjoy reading. And have a nice weekend.

Yuuki36 commented about the massive resort , actually that description is based on the hotel that we stayed at when we went to Hamilton Island last year. The Island has everything that I described in this chapter minus the French restaurant and Tennis courts. But they did offer most of the water activities there. We actually tried canoeing and we snorkelled at the great barrier reef. If you guys are planing to go on holiday I recommend this one. Wow! I'm promoting it. I should get payed for advertising LOL.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

Chapter 3

"It's nice to meet you too Yamamoto-san. Thank you for hiring me." Kyoko bowed respectfully to the man. Raised her head and said. "I don't really mean to be rude but I need to go now. I have to be at the studio by 10:30."

Ren was watching the whole exchange analytically. His father taught him at a young age that the key to being a good actor is being a good observer. And that's what he's doing right now, He's watching this distinguish looking man interact with his Kyoko.

"No, that's fine." Haruki said. "We'll see you later."

Ren saw Kyoko bow again to express her goodbye and he did the same. They walked out of the cafe in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Ren is feeling ill at ease at the moment. He just can't figure out Yamamoto Haruki. Throughout the whole exchange, that guy was staring at Kyoko with a silly grin on his face, like a little boy who found a long lost toy. He barely glanced at Ren when they got introduce. And what is odder about the meeting is that Ren didn't feel any animosity like most of the time he felt when a male stares at Kyoko. Maybe it's because he didn't feel any attraction or lust emitting from the other guy towards Kyoko. All he felt was Haruki's excitement and happiness upon meeting the young actress. It felt like a fan meeting his favourite actress. Maybe that's it! He's a big fan of Kyoko. He probably chose to hire Kyoko so he could meet his favourite actress.

Kyoko was also thinking about the short meeting with her new employer. She is a bit confused in what she felt about Yamamoto Haruki. Even though they just spoken for several minutes she felt some familiarity and connection with the young man that she cannot understand. She was sure that she hasn't met him before today. She would have remembered his face. He's very handsome and easily can compare to most of the actors Kyoko met. He could easily be a model or an idol. He's tall perhaps a centimetre or two taller than Sho, in Kyoko's calculation. He also has a kind smile and very well mannered. 'If I was to have an Onii-san I would like him to be like Yamamoto Haruki.' Kyoko thought. What was she thinking? That's impossible. Kyoko shook her head to dislodge all thoughts about Yamamoto Haruki.

Ren and Kyoko reached the side entrance of LME building, which most of the LME employee use.

"I'll go first Ren-san. I have to be at the studio in half an hour."

"I'll drive you there."

"No, it's ok. I don't want to I take advantage of your generosity. You already drove me here this morning and paid for my breakfast. It's only 20 mins walk anyway."

"I insist. I'll drive you. You're a talent and can be easily recognised by fans I can't let you walk to the studio. Kyoko," He said when he saw her looked sceptic "it's for my peace of mind as well. At least this way I won't have to worry that about you getting mod by fans while you're walking. I'll just call Yashiro and tell him to meet us at the car."

Before Kyoko can protest Ren was on his phone telling his manager to meet them at his car.

* * *

><p>Yamamoto Haruki arrived at his office with a big smile on his face. He just couldn't help himself from smiling. He knows that he told Ushio that he didn't want to hope but he is beyond that, already he's convinced that Kyoko is really Akiko. Watching her for almost an hour convinced him that she really is his sister. If she isn't Akiko, then how can two people have exact the same expression. Remembering two yrs old Akiko's expression when even she gets exited, her eyes gets big, round and shiny, full of anticipation of what is to come. He has seen it again in Kyoko's face while talking to her companion. Same big, round eyes, same anticipation. Then when he actually met her, looking at her innocent golden eyes, it feels like looking at Akiko's eyes again.<p>

"Did you see Tsuruga Ren's new movie?" He heard one of the employee said to her friend as they walk past his office.

"Yes. He's so hot in that move. I wonder how..." Haruki didn't hear the rest of the sentence. 'Tsuruga Ren, that's the name of the guy Kyoko was with when Ushio introduced them.' He thought. He was too busy staring at Kyoko that he really didn't pay much attention to the guy she was with. Haruki turned to his laptop and open a search engine then typed "Tsuruga Ren" according to his profile he's the number one most desirable man in Japan. Looking down the list he didn't even know his part of the list at number 12. He chuckled to himself. Not bad since he's only been back in Japan for about a month.

He and his father migrated to America when they learned about Akiko's death 13 years ago. The grief of losing his mother and Akiko was too much for them both. Everywhere they look memories of the two people they love the most surrounded them. When his aunt suggested that they stay in America with her, his father settled all the things he needed to do to be able to run the business in America. It was two years ago when his father decided that he wants to build a resort in Okinawa and named it after Akiko. Yamamoto Akiko was too long so it was shortened to which became Yakiko resort. His father went back to Japan to oversee the construction of the resort while he stayed back in America to finish his Masters degree in business.

A buzz on this office phone awakened him from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He answered after pressing the answer button on the intercom.

"Yamamoto-sama there is a Kato Ichiro-san out here who wants to see you."

"Show him in please. Thank you."

The door of his office opened and a guy with short cropped hair in a suit entered.

"Good afternoon Yamamoto-sama" The man called Kato Ichiro respectfully bow.

"Good afternoon Kato-san. Have a sit. What have you got for me so far?"

Sato handed Haruki an envelope. "Everything I found out is there. I'm still looking for Mogami Saena. No one seems to know where she is."

"Mogami Saena?" Haruki asked.

"Yes. Mogami Kyouko's mother. She's nowhere to be found. The Fuwa couple wouldn't say anything in fear that anything they say could affect Kyoko or their son's career. I told them that I'm not a reported and that I'm a private investigator hired by her family to look for her and they just wanted to know what became of her. All the reports are in the envelope."

Haruki opened the envelope and read though the report quickly. Satisfied in what he read, he opened this locked drawer took out an envelope. He handed the envelope to Sato.

"Thank you Yamamoto-sama. I'll get back to you once I find Mogami Saena"

* * *

><p>Its 6 pm, Kyoko just finished changing back into her street clothes in the locker room at the Love Me office when she heard the front door open. She quickly put her shoes on and grabbed her bag. She went to see who entered the room.<p>

"Moko-san" She shouted and ran full force to her best friend who was just about to sit on the Love me sofa. Kanae stopped her friend from hugging her to death by putting her hands in front of her.

"Mo, can you stop that."

"I missed you Moko-san. I haven't seen for a while. And you'll be leaving soon to go to Korea to film your drama. So I won't be seeing for a long time." Kyoko cried.

"Mo, I'm only gonna be gone for a month." But even if it's only for a month, Kanae knows how Kyoko feels. She will miss Kyoko too but she would never admit that to anyone. "Besides we can always talk to each other over the phone." She said to pacify the still whining girl.

"But Moko-san it's not ganna be the same. We won't have our weekly outings" Kyoko said still pouting like a little girl.

Kanae decided to use her last card to make it up to Kyoko. "Anyway I'll be working with you on Director Kurosaki's CM before I leave, so we'll have time to hang out."

"Really? You'll be in the same CM? Which part are you playing?"

"Kyoko which part do you think I'm playing? I can't be your mother. I'm too young for that."

"Oh! You'll be one of my college friends then in the second CM."

"Duh, obviously." Kanae rolled her eyes at her friend.

"When did you get the offer? I thought the script wasn't finish yet."

"This morning. The president called me and Chiori-san into his office. Director Kurosaki was there and he offered us a part each. The script will be sent to us by the end of this week." She said.

This time Kanae didn't see it coming, Kyoko hugged her friend tightly "That' great Moko-san! We'll be working again together. I'm so happy."

"Mo, get off me!"

* * *

><p>At the Yamamoto's mansion. Father and son are having dinner together.<p>

"I got the reports of the investigation from Sato-san today." Haruki told his father.

"What was on the report?"

"Her name is Mogami Kyouko, which we already know. Her stage name is Kyoko, spelled without the u. She's 17 yrs old and her birthday is 25th of December"

"Same as Akiko." Haruto interrupted.

"Hai. Same as Akiko. She moved to Kyoto with her mother when she was four. Her mother's name is Mogami Saena. According to the report they stayed at a Ryokan owned by the Fuwas. The Okami-san is her childhood friend. The story Saena told them was that they're in hiding because the father of her child is chasing them because he wanted to bring the little girl overseas so she won't have access to her. She also told them that he's an abusive husband and he didn't love her. So she ran away with her daughter. Later on when Saena found work she started leaving Kyoko with the Fuwas. They said it started with just with one or two days that she wouldn't come home. Then it became a week that they wouldn't see her. Gradually it became months. She sent money for Kyoko until she was 12, that's when they received a cheque for $15,000 and a letter saying she won't be back for Kyoko. They haven't seen her since and nobody knows where she is. They haven't told the poor girl about the letter or the money. The cheque, they deposited into the bank in Kyoko's name. It's in term deposit until Kyoko turns 18, then she can do whatever she want to do with it."

"I see. So the Fuwas are good people."

"It looks like they are. The report also said that the Okami-san was training Kyoko to be the bride for their only child."

"If that's the case, how come she's in Tokyo now? Did she run away because she didn't want to marry the guy?"

"No Otou-san. Apparently it's the opposite. She fallowed Fuwa Shoutaro to Tokyo. Or should I say the boy asked her to run away to Tokyo with him. He wanted to be a singer according to the report."

"Fuwa Shoutato hhmmm. Is that referring to Fuwa Sho? The Number one singer in Japan?"

"Not sure. Maybe. How do you know him? Do you listen to his music?"

"No. I'm too old for his music. He has just started in the industry when I arrived back here in Japan two years ago. A lot of the workers during the construction of the resort listened to his music. So I became familiar with the singer. So what else is in the report?"

"It says that when she was 15, after graduating from middle school, she and Fuwa Shoutaro went to Tokyo. There was a gap in the time frame. The investigator didn't know what happened between her coming to Tokyo and her joining LME. All it says is that she joined LME at the age of 16 and she stared in a couple of dramas. The list of dramas she was in is here if you want to have a look." Haruki handed his father the paper.

"So she joined LME huh?

"Hai. That is what it says here."

"So the report didn't have any conclusive evidence that she really is Akiko."

"No, Otou-san. But I met her in person today."

"You met her?"

"Hai. Ushio introduced us. She agreed to do the CM for the Yakiko resort." Haruki told to his father what had happened during Ushio's meeting and how he'd met the young actress. "I was watching her for a while Tou-san, she's got the same expressive eyes as Akiko. Then I met her face to face, looking into her eyes is like looking into Akiko's eyes again."

Haruto touched his son's arm and said "Son I just don't want to hope then be disappointed again. The train wreckage had conclusive evidence that they were boarded in that train. We ourselves found Akiko's belongings there."

Haruki remembered that fateful day. They were having breakfast when his father received a phone call from the private investigator they hired to look for them. They had a lead to where they could find Akiko. They said that someone at the train station saw a woman and her 4yrs old daughter boarded the train to Osaka. The investigators people will intercept them at Osaka and bring them home. Haruki was really excited. All day he anticipated his sister's home coming. At lunch time his father received another call saying there has been an accident. The train they boarded collided with another train. Before the collision the driver of the train hit the brakes hoping to avoid the impending collision but unfortunately the action didn't help in fact it made it worst. It created too much friction and sparks ignited. Some of the carriage burst into flames. Haruki shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I know Otou-san. But we didn't get see their faces because of the intensive burn they received. We didn't get them DNA tested to make sure it's them really. All we got is Akiko's things, so there might be a slim chance that it's not really them in that train. Otou-san this time I want to be hundred percent sure whether she really is Akiko or not. It's for my own peace of mind."

"Alright son, do what you have to do, but please don't hope too much." Haruto advised his son.

They continue their dinner in silence.

Authors Notes.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. The next four chapters I might be doing the CM or I might do it in one long chapter. Not sure yet.

Shiroyuki76: Don't worry I didn't take you comment as criticism just a friendly suggestion. I do have a purpose as to why Haruki doesn't know who Ren was. It will be reveal later on.

Anyway Thank you for reading my story.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

Chapter 4

It was Thursday afternoon when all three Love Me girls were called into Sawara's office.

"Here are your scripts girls for the Yakiko CM. Kotonami-san you'll be Hana and Amamiya-san is Mika. And here are the other three scripts for Akane." Sawara gave each girl their own copy of the scripts. "Director Kurosaki is expecting you girls on Saturday at 9 am for the cast meeting and reading of the scripts. There is a chance that you'll start filming the scene at the university in the afternoon too according to the Director. So I've checked all your schedules and cleared the whole day for you girls. Apart from the university shoot all the filming will done at Yakiko resort in Okinawa. I need to organise and co-ordinate your schedules for next week. Director Kurosaki wanted to start next week."

"I'll ask my manager to give you my schedule for next week." Amamiya said.

"No need I called her and she emailed me the details. Kotonami-san I moved your interview for Cosmo from Wednesday to Tuesday morning at 10am. Your photo shoot for Catwalk magazine was moved from Friday to Tuesday 1:30pm-5:30pm." Sawara handed Kanae her new schedule.

"Thank you" The beautiful actress said.

"Amamiya-san I made some changes in your schedule too. You should be receiving that from your manager. Mogami-san you won't be able to do the Bridge rock next week, but don't worry I found a replacement for them already and informed the Director of the changes. The three of you will be flying to Okinawa on Tuesday at 7pm. Mogami-san and Amamiya-san your filming for Box R on Tuesday should be finish by 5pm so the LME driver would be picking you up first then Kotonami-san. From there you'll be driven to the airport, you won't have time to go home and pick up your luggage. So I suggest you bring them to me either on Monday or Tuesday morning and we will load them in the car ready for your flight. Any question?"

"How long are we staying there?" Amamiya wanted to know.

"You and Kotonami-san will be taking the 5pm flight back here to Tokyo on Saturday. Yamamoto-san, the owner of the resort, actually wanted all the cast and crew to stay for at least a week so you can enjoy a short vacation too after the shoot. But unfortunately you girls have commitments that cannot be move. Kotonami-san has a photo shoot on Sunday for her new drama and she'll be flying to Korea on Monday. You, Amamiya-san, on the hand have to be back for your filming of another CM which is scheduled for Sunday too. Mogami-san you'll be staying until Wednesday next week. Here are the schedules of the shoots. Now if you girls don't have any more questions, I'll let you go home. Please study your scripts before Saturday."

The Love me girls Thanked Sawara and said their goodbyes. They left his office and headed to their own Love Me office to get change back into their street clothes.

"It says here that the second CM will be shot on Thursday, so that means we have Wednesday to relax." Amamiya said while looking at her own schedule.

"Only for you and Moko-san, I have a full day shoot on Wednesday with the family." Kyoko said studying her schedule. "Thursday I'll be filming with you guys and Friday morning too. Then a break until Sunday. I wonder why there's a big break there."

"Maybe due to the other actor's schedules." Moko suggested.

"I wonder who your boyfriend/fiancé/husband will be." Amamiya said.

"We'll find out on Saturday." Kanae said.

* * *

><p>Saturday<p>

Kyoko walked in the studio where they will be having the cast meeting and sat on one of the chairs. She was half an hour early due to the fact that Ren had driven her to the studio this morning after having breakfast together. She decided to take out her scripts to study them before the rest of the cast comes. But she cannot seem to concentrate with what she was reading. Something is bothering Ren but he wouldn't tell her what it was. It's making her worry. 'Is he having problem with his role again like he had with his Katsuki? I better ask Yashiro-san' she thought. 'I'll call him later.'

"Mo! Kyoko what are you thinking so hard about that your face looks like it's doing its own drama."

"Huh? Moko-saaannn!" Kyoko got up to hug her friend, but Kanae gently pushed her back onto her sit.

"Mo! Stop it! It's embarrassing. We're not alone you know." Amamiya was standing next to Kane.

"Ohayou Kyoko-san"

"Ohayou Chiori-san" Kyoko greeted her back

Kyoko looked around the room and found some of the cast has arrived without her noticing. Four seats away from her, sat a beautiful middle age woman wearing a red summer dress. Kyoko assumed that she will be playing the role of her mother. Next to the woman, talking to her is a serious looking man wearing a white polo shirt and brown slacks. 'He must be my father.' Just then Hidehito Kijima entered the room. He looked around and walked straight to Kyoko's little group.

"Good morning Kyoko-chan and company." He said eying Kanae appreciatively. Kijima asked Kyoko out during the Dark Moon party but date never happened. After realising that Ren is interested in the girl, he decided not to pursue her. He didn't really feel like competing against Ren for Kyoko, after all there are plenty of beauties he could go out with. And there are two of them in front of him right now.

"Good morning Kijima-san. These are my friends. Kotonami Kanae and Amamiya Chiori. Moko-san, Chiori-san this is Hidehito Kajima-san"

"Good morning Hidehito-san" Amamiya said. Kanae just gave him a nod.

"Hello Amamiya-san Kotonami-san. It's nice to meet you." Kijima said giving the girls his best smile.

Before Kijima could utter another word, Director Kurosaki entered the room with another male and called the room in order. Kanae chose the seat on Kyoko's left while Amamiya sat on Kyoko's right. Kijima sat next to Amamiya. He would have preferred to sit next to raven beautify but Kanae didn't give him a chance to do so. She chose the chair at the end of the row.

Mean while Kyoko recognised the guy with the Director. She just hopes that he doesn't recognise. She has seen a lot of him during her time as Setsu Heel. He played the protagonist in that movie where her brother, Cain heel, played the antagonist. Kyoko is starting to feel uncomfortable each time he glace at her. The Director motioned for the actor to take a seat so they can start.

Murasame Taira walked towards the seat next to Kijima. On the way there he couldn't help himself from stealing glances at the short haired actress. Murasame is one of Kyoko's biggest fan. When he first saw her in the Kyurara CM he was mesmerised. All his friends preferred the long haired beauty but not him. Ever since the beginning he liked the cute, bubbly, short haired girl in that CM. Then Fuwa Sho's PV came out, at first he really didn't pay much attention to it. He's not really into that kind of music but when he heard that one of the angel is played by the same girl, he immediately watch the video. First time he watched the PV he got confused, he couldn't find her. After re-watching it and studying both angels he finally realised the angel that killed the devil is the girl he was seeking for. After that he was hooked. He watched Dark Moon and Box R just so he could see her face. He was impressed with her talent and awed by her ever changing looks. From a cute bubbly high school girl to an ethereal angel to a scary rich girl to sexy high school bully and now seeing her in her normal clothes, he just couldn't help but admire the girl. He was so excited when he found out that he will be working with her. Maybe they'll get to know each other better while working on this CM, after all they will be spending a couple of days at a resort. Maybe they could hang around with each other and after the filming, before going back to Tokyo, he could ask for her number. But first he decided that he would talk to her and introduce himself to her properly after this meeting. He reached his seat and the Director started the meeting.

"Good morning everyone. I'm Kurosaki Ushio your Director. Let me introduce the cast for this CM. Let start at the far right. This is Watanabe Juro, he'll be playing the Dad and next to him is his lovely wife Watanabe Emi, who will be the Mum." Both adults stood up and bowed. "Next is Murasame Taira who will be Ken, the boyfriend/fiancé/groom." He stood up and bowed. Before sitting back down he stole another glance at Kyoko. "We also got Hidehito Kijima as Shin, the brother" Hidehito stoop up and bowed. "Amamiya Chiori as Mika." She stood up and bowed. "Kyoko as Akane."

Kyoko stood up and said "Please take care of me" before bowing.

"And last but not the least Kotonami Kanae as Hana." Kanae stood up and bowed. "Before we start that reading let me brief you about the CM. We have four commercials and each commercial focuses on each part of the resort. Having a character that keeps coming back to the resort gives the message that it's a place that people can enjoy over and over again. The first CM will be all filmed at the resort. We will use one of the apartment at the resort to film the first scene which will be on Wednesday as Kyoko-san won't be available on Tuesday. Juro-san, Emi-san and Kijima-kun will be arriving at the resort Monday afternoon, so Tuesday morning we will be filming at the golf course with the Watanabes. Then early afternoon we'll do the scenes with Kijima-san."

"Umm Director, I don't really have any experience with wind surfing." Kijima admitted.

"Not to worry. Are you comfortable jet skiing?"

"That I can do." Kijima said proudly.

"Ok, we will change that to jet skiing. Kyoko-san, Kotonami-san and Amamiya-san will be arriving at the resort on Tuesday night. Wednesday We will finish all the scene for the first commercial. In the morning Kyoko will be filming the poolside scene, and just before lunch shoot the first scene. Then lunch break. Then we will do the arrival scene and finally the looking-around-for-restaurant and dinner scene. That should be the last scene for CM 1. Then we move on to CM2 which we will start shooting today at 2:30 pm. After this meeting we will have an hour lunch break, and then all three of you will come with me to Tokyo University to do the first two scene of CM2. Then the rest will be filmed on Thursday and Friday the bike ride and beach scene on Thursday morning shopping scene and massage scene after lunch. Then we will continue with the arrival to the resort scene. Friday we will be doing tennis in the morning and scene 12 and 15 of the wedding. This shots will be tricky because our groom won't be able to join us until Sunday due to his schedule. And we won't be able to wait to shoot it with him because the bridesmaids have to go back to Tokyo by Saturday night. So we have to rely on the editing. CM3 will start filming on Sunday with the convention. We will be using the resort staff as extras. Sunday night will be the proposal and Monday the Wedding for CM4. Any questions?" When nobody answered he continued "We'll be having 10 minutes break now. When we come back we will start the script reading." The Director exited and did the Watanabe couple.

"So you girls will start shooting today huh?" Kijima said

"I guess" Amamiya answered. "I've never been to Tokyo University. Have any of you been there?"

Kijima, Kanae and Kyoko shook their heads, but Murasame said "I have once. By the way I'm Murasame Taira" He introduced himself to everyone. "All of you seem to know each other very well. Have you worked with each other before?"

"Hai." Kyoko said. "Kotonami-san, Amamiya-san and I work together at LME."

"Kyoko-san and I are also co-stars in Box R." Amamiya added.

"Yes, I recognised you. You're one of her gang."

"I worked with Kyoko-chan in Dark Moon. But this is the first time I meet Amamiya-san and Kotonami-chan." Kijima said winking at Kanae. She just ignored him.

"This is my second CM with Kyoko. We did the Kyurara CM last year with Director Kurosaki too."

"I see. I've worked with Director Kurosaki too, just recently." Murasame said.

"I've worked with him too a few years ago when I did the Calvin Klein CM. That was my first CM, I had to do it because I was their model." Kijima said.

"So I'm the only one who hasn't work with Director Kurosaki" Amamiya said feeling a bit left out and worried. Very body knew how the Director work and what the Director expects from his actors and actresses except for her.

"Don't worry Amamiya-san, Director Kurosaki is a very good Director. As long as you do your best he will be happy. He..." Kyoko didn't finish what she was about to say because at that moment her phone started vibrating. She took it out of her pocket and checked the caller, it's a private number. She smiled and excused herself.

Kanae and Amamiya gave each other a knowing look. Murasame was curious about who the caller was. Especially when that caller can make Kyoko smile so beautiful just by calling. Kijima had a feeling that it's Ren who called.

Outside the room Kyoko answered her phone.

"Moshi moshi."

"Oh, hello!" a surprised Ren said. "I wasn't expecting you to answer. I was just going to leave a message"

"I'm on ten minutes break. Well it should be five minutes now. So what message were you supposed to leave?"

"Uh um. I was just wondering how your cast meeting was doing. You've met all the cast right? Anyone you know apart from Kotonami-san and Amamiya-san?"

'That's odd. Why does Ren sound so apprehensive' Kyoko thought. "Hai, Kijima-san will be my brother and Watanabe Juro and Watanabe Emi will be my parents. Do you know them Ren-san?"

Ren is getting impatient. Why isn't she telling him who's the guy who supposed to propose to her? "Yeah, I've worked with Watanabe Juro-san a few years ago, but not with his wife. I've met her though at one of the parties I've been. So who else is there?"

"Umm, do you remember Murasame Tairo? Of course you would remember, you just worked with him a couple of months ago."

"Murasame? His part of the cast?" Ren said. He was getting more and more apprehensive now. He remembered how he ogled Setsu. And now he would be acting opposite his Kyoko and from the sound of it he will be the one proposing to Kyoko.

"Hai, he will be Ken. I'm a bit worried Ren-san."

"Why"

"Well, ever since he arrived he has been staring at me. I'm scared that he might have recognised me as Setsu Heel. He hasn't said anything about it."

"Don't worry too much, I don't know he will recognise Setsu in you now. Setsu has different eye colour and you didn't really talk to him much so he would recognise your voice."

"I hope so. Anyway I can see Director Kurosaki walking back here now, I have to go back in."

"Wait, I was going to ask you if you want to have lunch with me and Yashiro. I'll be finish at 11:30 I have a four hour break. We can bring Kotonami-san and Amamiya-san too."

"I guess we can have lunch together but we have to be at Tokyo University by 2pm. The shoot starts at 2:30. We were going with the Director. So if we meet the director before he leaves I think that would be fine."

"I'll go straight there after my shoot. We can eat in one of the restaurant nearby."

"Ok I'll see you soon." Kyoko hung up just as the director reached her. They entered the room together followed by the Watanabe couple.

"Ok guys, let start."

* * *

><p>Yashiro Yukihito was watching his charge from a far while he was talking on the phone. Ren never used to bother with phone calls during working hours. All important phone calls goes to Yashiro, therefore Ren only gets calls from females who's trying to sought him out. He used to ignore his phone until the end of the day. That was until Kyoko came along. Now Ren checks his phone every opportunity he gets, in case she calls or leaves him a message. Quite often now a day Ren calls Kyoko during work hours, especially during nights when he has to work late. What frustrates him the most is that they already act like an old married couple but they still wouldn't admit their feelings to each other. He knows that Ren drops hints of his feelings here and there for Kyoko but the girl is too dense to actually get what they mean.<p>

Ren usually have this heavenly smile on this face that can make girls faint when they see it every time he talks to Kyoko. But right now that smile is missing. In its place is a murderous intent look. Yashiro knows what is causing that look, he's been teasing Ren about it. Right now he feels really sorry for teasing his charge. He knows how insecure Ren gets when it comes to Kyoko's feelings.

Ever since Ren found out about the proposal and wedding in the script of Kyoko's new CM he has become apprehensive. He knows that it's only going to be an act but the thought of someone else proposing and marrying the girl he loves make him feel jealous and uneasy. Now he know who it's going to be he just wants to murder the guy especially after hearing that he's been staring at Kyoko like the way he stared at Setsu. 'I should have killed that guy when I was Cain Heel' he thought.

"Ren, fix your face." He heard Yashiro "This is a romance/drama film not a thriller where you're the murderer. You're going to scare the whole cast and crew with that expression of yours." He looked at Yashiro, he didn't even notice when he approached him but he took his manager's advice and schooled his expression into his gentleman smile.

"Happy?" Ren said sarcastically.

"Not really, but that will do. You still have that four hour break after this shoot, what are you planning to do?"

"We will have lunch with the Love Me girls."

"We?"

"Yes, we, including you."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

><p>"Great Job everyone!" Director Kurosaki said with a big smile, he was happy that the script reading went well. To him this is a good omen that everything will go smoothly with the filming. "Thank you everyone. I'll see you all next week at the resort." He got up and walked towards the three girls. "Its 12:00 now, so if you girls want to have some lunch before we leave you can do so. I have to see the screen writer for some changes in the script. I'll meet you girls back here at 1:30."<p>

"Hai" The Love Me girls all answered at the same time.

The director exited the room and found Ren and his manager just outside the door.

"Hello Director."

"Hello Tsuruga-san. You're having lunch with your Kohai I presume."

"Hai. I heard that you will be filming At Tokyo Uni today."

"Hai. We have to be there by 2:00. The University Dean only gave us two hours for this shoot so we really have to be there on time. If you could bring your Kohai back here before 1:30 that would be great."

"We will be having lunch all together, so I can drive the three girls straight to the University after lunch. If that's OK with you."

"I supposed that would be fine. I can go straight there after my meeting to check the progress of the setup. Here's my number, have one of the girls call me when they get there so I can get one of the stuff to meet them at the entrance." Kurosaki wrote his number on a piece of paper and gave it to Ren "Have a nice lunch. And don't be late."

"Thank you Director. I'll see to it that they'll be on time."

Inside the room Kyoko started to gather her things. She already informed her friends about their lunch plan and both girls agreed to go with her. Murasame was about to approach Kyoko when Kijima stopped him.

"I've notice your interest in Kyoko-chan" He whispered. "Just a warning, you will have to go against her guard dog before you could reach her. And it's pretty hard to compete with that person when it comes to her attention." Kijima got up leaving Murasame to think about what he just said.

"I'm free until 2:00. What do you say we all go to lunch together." Kijima said. "We can all get to know each over lunch before the filming." He continued while looking at Kanae.

Before Kyoko could answer him there was a soft knock on the open door and Ren stepped inside the room.

"Hello everyone." Ren said but his eyes were Kyoko.

"Tsuruga-san you're here already" Kyoko said.

"Ren, are you here to steal our beautiful co-stars?"

"Actually I'm here to save them from you Kijima."

"Oh such a heroic gesture from our No. 1 most desirable guy in Japan. But I say it's unfair for you to keep these beautiful ladies all to yourself. I'm inviting myself to join you guys for lunch. Murasame would you like to come too?"

Everybody turned to Murasame waiting for his reply.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the long wait. I went back to work last week after a heavenly, restful 2 weeks holiday and guest what was I found on my desk...A mountain full of drawings that needed to be CAD up. Now that I caught up with my work I have spare time to write gain.

To everyone reading this story thank you. It's a nice feeling knowing your work is being appreciated.

This chapter is just about introducing the cast for the CM. Then the next few chapters will be the filming which will lead to the story of Yamamoto Akiko. I know where I want the story to go, but I'm open to suggestions , if you guys have any, to improve the story or my writing.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

**Chapter 5**

Murasame was still thinking about Kijima's warning. 'Kyoko must have a boyfriend or at least someone special to her. I wonder who the lucky guy is.' He thought sadly. He was so absorbed with his thoughts that he didn't notice the arrival of the tall actor and his manager.

"...Murasame would you like to come too?" Murasame only heard the last question. And found everyone staring at him expecting his answer.

"Sorry I wasn't paying attention, I was just thinking of something. Where am I supposed to go with you?"

"Well, you see our Number one most desirable guy here," Kijima said putting his arm around Ren's shoulders. "is taking these beautiful girls to lunch. I invited myself to join them, I was just asking you if you would like to come with us." Kijima finished his explanation.

"I'll come if you don't mind having me around. I don't really have to be at the studio until 3:00."

"So it's settled. Ren-kun we're coming with you. Kotoname-san would you like to ride with me?" Kijima asked.

"No, thank you. We'll all go in Tsuruga-san's car." Kanae answered looking at Ren.

"fine then. How about you Murasame-san? Do you need a ride?"Kijima asked

"No, thank you. I've got my own car. Where are we eating anyway?"

"Good question. Ren where are we eating?"

"I don't know yet. I was gonna ask the girls to decide." Everybody turned to look at Kyoko.

"Why are you all looking at just me? He said 'girls'."

Murasame was just as puzzled as Kyoko to why even the girls looked at Kyoko. He only looked at Kyoko because he wanted to see her face again. But he couldn't understand why the others did. Ren looked at Kyoko to get her opinion. The rest looked at Kyoko because they all know that the only opinion that matters to Ren is Kyoko's.

"You decide Kyoko-san" Kanae said.

"Me? Why me? I don't know what everybody prefers. Well I don't know what Kijima-san or Murasame-san likes." She corrected herself. She'd been friends with the two girls and Yashiro for a while now that she knows what they like and they don't like. In Ren's case he doesn't mind anything really as long as it's not heavy. He doesn't really know how to pick healthy foods so every time they go out she picks his food for him.

"I'm really not picky with my food Kyoko-san, so anywhere you pick will be fine." Kijima added.

"I don't mind either as long as they have meat." Murasame said.

"Ok, there is a Teppanyaki restaurant a few blocks away from here, would everybody be alright if eat there?" Everyone agreed.

* * *

><p>When they arrived to the said restaurant, Yashiro went in first to ask the Maitre d' if they could get a table for seven in a private area. Fortunately for the six stars they do provide private rooms to important people. Being close to the studio, the restaurant often get actors, actresses and directors as costumers hence there are several private areas to accommodate them.<p>

In Ichiku Tepannyaki Restaurant it is a very common sight to see beautiful actors and actresses come in to have lunch or dinner that the servers got used to interacting with them without ogling. Sometimes one or two of the servers will get lucky and their favourite actor or actress would step into the restaurant, then they get go ask for an autograph or even a picture with their idols. Takana Mai hadn't been that lucky yet until today. The moment those seven beautiful people came into the restaurant she couldn't contain her excitement. She immediately recognised everyone in the group except for the handsome guy with glasses. Is he a new actor or maybe a model that she hasn't seen before. He's good looking enough to be one, but being among the midst of three of the most desirable men in Japan, he looks a bit plain specially walking next to the most gorgeous one. She thanked her lucky star that the Maitre d' actually lead them to one of the private room she's in charge of serving. Maybe she could ask for their autographs.

The stars were lead to a room with seven seats. Ren sat at the end of the table with Kyoko on his right side and Yashiro on the left. Kanae pick the seat next to Kyoko and Amamiya sat next to Kanae. Kijima chose the seat opposite Kanae so he could look at her beautiful face, while Murasame didn't have a choice but to seat opposite Amamiya. He would have loved to seat where Ren is seated or even Yashiro's position is very desirable.

"Your server and the chef will be with you in a moment." The Maitre d' said in a raspy voice before exiting the room. She was almost hyperventilating after seeing who their costumers were.

"So we haven't been introduced." Ren said to Murasame. "I'm Tsuruga Ren and this is my manager Yashiro Yukihito."

"Ren, you hardly need introduction" Kijima said to his friend. "I think everyone know who you are. You've been the No. 1 most desirable man in Japan in the last three years. If Murasame here is like me he would be trying to achieve what haven't in the last three years."

"And what is that?" Kanae asked.

"To steal his position. I've been stuck in the number two position in the last two years. But I swear next year I'll get the number one title."

"Be my guest." Ren chuckled. "It's not me who decides who becomes number one anyway."

"How about you Murasame? Don't you want to be number one most desirable as well?" Amamiya asked.

"Not really. I wasn't aiming to be in the most desirable man, my aim is to be a hollywood star like my favourite actor."

"Who's your favourite actor?" Kyoko asked.

"Hizuri Kuu. He's really talented."

"Oh, Otou-san will be happy to hear you say that."

"Otou-san? Kyoko-san are you related Hizuri Kuu?"

"Well, He's actually a good friend of our President and during his last stay here in Japan I was appointed to take care of him." Kyoko started to blush

"But how come you called him Otou-san?"

"Because while he was here he gave me special training to improved my imagination and observation skills. To do this he asked me to act as his son."

"As his son?" Kijima said

Before Kyoko can answer their waitress arrived.

"Good afternoon everyone. My name is Takana Mai, I'll be your sever today. Can I get you anything to drink?" Mai couldn't help herself from staring at her favourite actor and actress.

They ordered tea and water.

"I'll be right back with your drinks. And the Chef will be here soon." Their server left with their order.

"His son? Why his son?" Kijima asked again.

"Well he said that just because I'm a girl there is no guarantee that I'll only get request for female roles. He also said that acting beyond the limit of your age or gender is not easy but it's possible if you have a sharp observation skills and great mimic skills. If I want to become a proper actress I shouldn't let each day pass indifferently. I should take deeper interest in paying attention to all that I see, hear and feel and I should make a habit of recording it all, so that I can always reproduce them at critical moments. The next day I acted as his 15 years old son. Before he left he said that I'll always be his child and that I should always refer to him as father. "

Ren couldn't help but be proud of his father.

"Wow, that's impressive" Murasame said in awe. "You're truly one awesome girl! That's why I'm one of your biggest fan." Murasame didn't mean to let that information slip in front of everyone. He was planning on telling Kyoko about it at the resort, when they're alone, but after hearing that the girl he admire the most knows his hero he didn't think. It just came out. Murasame suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, but he couldn't understand why. He look around but everything seems to be fine.

Ren didn't know that he was giving Murasame death glares until Yashiro kicked him under the table to get his attention and discreetly motioned to fix his expression.

"I was just lucky to be able to meet him." The red Kyoko said, embarrassed by all the attention she was getting.

At that moment their server came back with a tray of drinks in hand. She placed their drinks on the table.

"Umm...Is ok if I get everyone's autograph?" The girl said shyly.

"No problem. Anything for a fan." Kijima took the paper and pen the girl was holding out and signed his name. Then passed it to Murasame who passed it to Amamiya after signing. Amamiya gave it to Kanae after. When the paper reached Kyoko she wrote a small message to the girl who she remembered named Mai.

The girl couldn't contain her excitement and said "Oh, Kyoko-san your my favourite actress! I just love your Natsu! Is it ok if you sign one for my brother too." She handed Kyoko another paper. "My brother is in love with you. He'll turn green with envy once he finds out I met his dream girl." By now Kyoko was as red as a tomato. She passed the first paper to Ren.

"What's your brother's name?" Kyoko asked softly before signing the paper in front of her.

"Ryu. Thank you so much Kyoko-san." Ren handed the paper back to Mai who looked puzzled. She turned to Yashiro and asked. "Aren't you going to sign too? You're a new actor right?"

Everybody turned to see the embarrassed Yashiro. He cleared his throat and answered the expectant girl. "I'm actually Tsuruga-san's manager."

"Oh. I see, I'll get your autograph anyway. You might become famous later on. You're good looking enough." She handed the paper to Yashiro who is starting to turn as red as Kyoko.

The chef entered the room carrying some ingredients and the server thank everyone and exited the room. The chef took their order and started cooking.

The stars and the manager started eating and talking about their past and new projects. Ren watched and observed Murasame . The guy was constantly taking small glances at Kyoko. The more he watched the more apprehensive he got. 'How am I supposed to keep this guy away from her when I'll be miles away from them.' He thought. 'And what's worse is that he will be proposing to her.'

Kyoko could feel Ren's discomfort and was reminded about her earlier worries about her beloved senpai. She wanted to ask him about it now but she knew that this was not the right time.

"It's 1:15 Kyoko-san, we better start heading back to the studio if we don't want to be late." Amamiya said.

"It's Ok Amamiya-san. I spoke to Director Kurosaki and got permission to drive you girls to Tokyo University." Ren explained.

"But we better get going soon anyway to make sure we get there in time." Kyoko said.

The four men ended up splitting the bill between themselves, insisting that the girls doesn't need to pay. After thanking and saying goodbye to the two actors, the three girls, Ren and Yashiro drove off. Before Kijima could leave Murasame stopped him to ask a few questions.

"Kijima-san, is Tsuruga-san the guard dog you were talking about?"

Kijima chuckled. "You notice huh? But then again it's pretty obvious. Ren guards her pretty well."

"Are they really that close?"

"I'd say they are. In the Dark Moon set they were always together, they eat lunch together and there are times when Ren drives her home." Kijima didn't mention the warning Ren gave him after the 'End Party' for Dark Moon.

"Would you say that they are going out?"

"Dude, do you really want to go head to head with Tsuruga Ren?" Kijima looked at Murasame who just look back at him. "Well good luck with that. You'll get your chance when you work with her next week. Just another friendly advice, don't mention Ren's name to Kyoko when you talk to her." Kijima walk to his car. Before driving off he said "See you next week."

* * *

><p>Ren parked his car in front of Tokyo Uni when they arrived.<p>

"Thank you for the ride Tsuruga-san" Kanae said

"My pleasure. How are you girls going to get home?" Ren asked.

"Don't worry Tsuruga-san, my manager should be there already. She's got her car with her, so we'll just drive Kanae-san and Kyoko-san where ever they want to go after." Amamiya answered for everybody.

"Thanks Amamiya-san." Ren said before the girls got out of the car.

At the entrance they were greeted by two beefy guys and a small woman who introduced herself as their make-up artist. Kyoko turned back and wave at Ren to signal him that they are alright.

"Was that Tsuruga Ren who just drove off?" Reina the make-up artist asked .

"Hai." Kanae said.

"And I saw you come out of his car. You girls know him?"

"Hai. We are all from LME, he's our senpai." This time Kyoko answered for the girls. They started walking towards the filming site.

"Gosh you're so lucky. To be able to see Tsuruga Ren all the time, talk to him and ride in his car would be a dream come true for me." Reina sigh. "I just love Ren! I wish, one of these days, I will have a chance to work with him."

Kyoko is feeling annoyed with the woman who kept talking about her senpai. She doesn't understand why she getting annoyed. She never had this feelings before even when she thought she was in love with Sho, she never get irritated with girls who talked about the singer. But right now, she hates hearing other girls say Ren's name informally like they know him intimately. 'Is this what jealousy feels like?' She thought. 'No it can't be. Why would I be jealous? It's not like I have the right to be possessive over Ren. After all I'm not his girlfriend.' Kyoko blushed a little bit at that thought.

"Here we are girls." They've arrived at one of the trailers allocated to be their dressing room. "Director Kurosaki said to bring you straight to make-up and wardrobe department." Inside are two other make-up artists.

Twenty minutes later, with make-up and costume done, the three friends went to find the Director.

"Oh there you are girls. All ready for filming?" The three girls nodded. "We'll be doing scene one and two today. I hope you all memorised your lines, we are only allowed two hours to film here today and this is the only time I can get before Kotonami-san leaves for Korea. So we better get this done today. Ok, Akane in the classroom please for scene one."

**Commercial 2 Scene 1.**

_Akane wrote down her final answer to the last question on the test paper. She put her pen down, stretched her arms over her head and smiled. She grabbed her bag off the floor with her left hand and pick up her test paper and answer sheets along with her pen with the right. She got up, talked toward the examiner at the front, handed her test paper and answer sheets to him before exiting the room._

_"Free at last!" she said taking in deep full breaths of fresh air and started walking toward the picnic tables where she was to meet her friends._

"Cut! Good take Kyoko-san. I'll just check that then we'll do scene two." Director Kurosaki said.

Kanae handed her best friend a bottle of water. "Ok everyone places for Scene two!" Kurosaki said after ten minutes.

**Commercial 2 Scene 2.**

_Akane approached the picnic table where her two best friends are sitting. Hana(Kanae) is the first one to notice her._

_"You're early. Couldn't answer anymore questions?" Hana teased._

_"Actually I think I aced that test." Akane sat on one of the benches._

_"I'm so glad all my exams are over!" Mika(Chiori) exclaimed. "I thought I would die from sleep deprivation."_

_"Really Mika, who would die from sleep deprivation?" Hana asked. "But I know what you mean. After studying for two weeks straight I just want to relax and have fun."_

_"Hey good Idea Hana. Why don't we go on a weekend trip?" Akane suggested._

_"Where should we go?" Both her friend asked at the same time._

_"There's a resort in Okinawa called Yakiko that my family went to when I was sixteen. The place is really beautiful and the hotel is connected to the beach. We can leave on Friday afternoon and come back on Sunday night. What do you think?"_

_"I'd go." Mika said_

_"Ok, book it Akane." Hana picked up Akane's phone from the table and handed it to her._

"Cut! Excellent girls, excellent. I'm so glad every scene only took one take. This is a good omen. Thank you for your hard work girls. I'll see you on Wednesday at the Resort."

* * *

><p>It's 9:00 when Kyoko's phone started to vibrate. She grabbed it from her table.<p>

"Good evening Ren-san."

"Hello Kyoko-chan. How was your shoot today?"

"According to Director Kurosaki 'It's excellent'. We did both scene without NGs."

"That is Excellent."

"How was yours?"

"Everything went smoothly."

"That's good then. Where are you now?"

"I just got home and I've already eaten a healthy dinner."

"That's good. Ummm...Ren-san?"

"Yes?"

"Is something bothering you?"

"What do you mean Kyoko-chan?"

"It's just that I've noticed that lately you've been down. If something is bothering you, maybe you want to talk about it. Maybe I could help?"

Ren doesn't know how to explain to Kyoko what he's feeling right now without confessing his love for her.

"Ren-san?"

"Yes, I'm still here."

"Are you Ok?" Kyoko asked getting worried now.

"I think I'm suffering from Separation Anxiety Disorder." He said jokingly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know that I'll be leaving tomorrow to go to Hokkaido and won't be back in Tokyo until Friday. By the time I get back you'll be in Okinawa. It just makes me sad to think that I won't see you for ten days. So I really think that I'm suffering from Separation Anxiety Disorder."

Kyoko was feeling sad too but she can't let her senpai know that. "We can always call each other. You can call me anytime you like. We can use video calls or Skype. If you like." She suggested. She doesn't like the thought of Ren being sad.

"But that's not the same." Ren knew he sounded whiny but he couldn't help it. "We won't be able to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner together."

Kyoko giggled "Ren-san if someone hears you, they might think we live together. It's not like we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together all the time."

"We used to. Do you want to live together again? You can move in with me. You can use the guestroom." 'Or better yet we can share my bedroom and my bed' He thought but didn't add.

"Ren-saaaan, stop joking. You know that's impossible, how would that affect your career if someone finds out you live with a plain girl like me?"

"Come on Kyoko-chan, how can you still call yourself plain when just today at lunch the waitress said that her brother's in love with you ."

"Even if you say I'm not plain the idea of me moving in with you is not good for your career."

"So you're saying that if it wasn't for my career you'll move in with me?"

"How did our conversation get to this point? We're talking about what's bothering you isn't it?

"Kyoko-chan just answer my question."

"No"

"No, you're not going to answer my question or no you're not moving in with me?"

"Ren-san it's not proper for a girl and a boy to live together unless they are married."

'We can get married' he thought. "We lived together before. You even saw me naked in the shower." He teased.

"Oh my gosh! Don't mention that again! I did see anything but your face, I promise. I swear I didn't see anything."

Ren could picture Kyoko blushing bright red. He chuckled.

"Stop teasing me!"

"Sorry." Ren said still smiling.

"So it's really the separation thing that's bothering you? Nothing else? Not work related?" Kyoko asked seriously.

"Nope. Just the Separation Anxiety. I supposed the best solution i,s as you said, video calls or Skype. Maybe we can do video calls twice or three times a week. We can even do that while eating breakfast, lunch or dinner at the same time, so we can say we had those meals together."

"You're just being silly now Ren-san. But I'm sure we can do video calls whenever you feel like it. Have you packed your things yet for your trip?"

"Hai, everything's ready."

"what time do you leave?"

"My flight is at 8:30. Yashiro said he'll meet me at the airport so I'll leave at 7:00."

"You better go to sleep then. You have to wake up early."

"Ok. Goodnight Kyoko-chan."

"Goodnight Ren-san. Have a safe trip tomorrow and don't forget to call or message me as soon as you get there."

"I won't forget I promise. Sweet dreams Kyoko-chan." Ren did his usual parting ritual of whispering a soft "I love you" and silently kissing the phone before disconnecting.

He got ready for bed and the last thing he thought before drifting off to sleep was 'The next ten days will be the longest days of his life.'


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

Chapter 6

"Otou-san, Akiko I mean Kyoko will be here tonight." Haruki said as soon as he entered his father's office at the hotel. "She's staying here until Wednesday. Maybe we can all have dinner during her stay here. She's such a sweet girl, you'll like her..." He stopped to look at his father when the older Yamamoto didn't react. He was disappointed to find his father's lack of interest in the girl that might be his sister. "Otou-san are you not you excited to finally meet her?"

"Haruki it's not that I'm not excited, it's just I'm a bit scared." Haruto admitted to his son. "I afraid that my old heart wouldn't be able to handle it if it turns out that she's not Akiko. Yes, she looks like your mother and she has the same eyes as yours but thirteen years ago there was evidence that Akiko was on that train."

"I know Otou-san but as I said before we never really had a DNA test for the body they found. We didn't even see the face of that young girl because of the intensive burn she suffered. Otou-san there is a slim chance that Akiko is alive and this girl could be her."

"A slim chance as you said. What if this girl is not her? To me, that would be like Akiko died the second time if I let myself hope now." Haruto said to his son but deep down he knows that in his heart he's already hoping. He didn't want to meet the young girl yet because he knows that he wouldn't be able to control his emotion. "I wouldn't be here tonight anyway."

"What? Why not?"

"I've got a meeting in Tokyo with an old friend of mine."

"Otou-san..."

"I'll be leaving in an hour. I'll leave you to look after things here." He cut his son's protest. "Then I have to go Hokkaido tomorrow to meet up with the contractor who will be handling our Ryokan expansion there."

"When are you coming back here?" Haruki asked somehow dejected, he knows his father very well and he knows that Haruto is avoiding meeting Kyoko.

"It depends on the contractors. They are supposed to do a survey of the site in Hokkaido then I'm thinking of bring them to Osaka to get their opinion about our Ryokan there."

"I see. I guess it can't be helped. You won't be meeting Kyoko-san then." Haruki said, disappoint.

Haruto seeing his son's dejected face decided to change the subject. "So have you found out more about Kyoko-san's family?"

"Not yet. They can't seem to find where Mogami Saena is. It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth. They can't even find a picture of her."

"How about pictures of Kyoko when she was young?"

"They found some school photos but it's not conclusive if she really is Akiko because her face have changed some. We only have a picture of her when she was two years old. It's hard to compare Akiko's photo with Kyoko's photo. The best way to find out is to have a DNA test."

"The question is how you are going to ask her to actually do the DNA test without scaring her."

"I don't know yet Otou-san. I'm hoping that within her time here I would be able to talk to her about it."

"Haruki, what would you do if you find out that she's not Akiko?"

"I don't really know..." He started seriously but added jokingly "We could maybe adopt her, she doesn't seem to have a family anyway. She could pass as a Yamamoto, she looks like one already."

Haruto chuckled "I supposed we could do that." Lightening the mood of the conversation.

Buzz buzz buzz. The intercom interrupted their conversation.

"Yamamoto-sama phone call for you in line one." His secretary said after he press the answer button.

"Ok I'll take it."

"I'll see you when you get back." Haruki said before leaving his father's office.

* * *

><p>It was dark and late when the three Love Me girls arrive at Yakiko resort. They were exhausted from their full day's work and travelling but that didn't stop them from admiring the spacious hotel lobby and its elegant furnishing. They followed the limo driver to the reception area.<p>

"Good evening, welcome to Yakiko Resort." The receptionist said.

"Hello Kudo-san" The limo driver said to receptionist. "These are Kyoko-san, Kotonami-san and Amamiya-san. Kurosaki-san is expecting them. I was instructed to bring them here."

"Yes, the Director told us to bring them to the lounge area when they arrive. The bellhop will bring your luggage up in your rooms" He informed them. "Sasaki-san" He called to the other receptionist who was inside the side office.

"Oh gosh!" Sasaki exclaimed upon seeing the three actresses who are waiting to be lead to the director. She covered her mouth and re-assert herself.

"Good evening" She said in her professional voice. They were trained to be professional at all times and she wasn't proud about her slip earlier. It's just that she overwhelmed after seeing three of her favourite actresses all at once.

"Good evening" the Love me girls answered.

"Sasaki-san I'm just going to step away from the desk to bring these ladies to the Director. If the ladies would like to follow me, I'll bring you to Director Kurosaki-sama."

The girls thank the Limo driver and followed the receptionist.

Kudo Ichigo thanked his lucky star that he's the one rostered to be in behind the reception desk today. Right now every male worker in area are looking at him with envy. He walked tall and proud towards the lounge area followed by three beautiful girls all the while pointing to different areas of the hotel.

Kurosaki was relaxing in the lounge with a drink when he saw his three stars walked in the room led by a proud looking receptionist. He got up and motioned the girls to join him.

"Good evening ladies" he said as soon as then reached him.

"Good evening." Kanae and Chiori said together.

"Hello Director Kurosaki. How are you?" Kyoko said.

"I'm fine Kyoko-san. How was your trip?"

"It's fine. Thank you for asking."

"I'm sure you are all tired. I just wanted to welcome you and personally show you girls to your room." He said then he turned to the receptionist "Thank you Kudo-san I'll take over from here. I've got their keycard with me."

Kudo bowed and left the three girls in the Directors care. Kurosaki led the girls to the elevator.

"This resort is actually owned by one of my close friend. He arrange all your accommodations, you will be sharing one of the penthouses with three bedrooms." The elevator door opened and they entered. "The penthouses here are very private you need a key to be able to access the floor itself." He demonstrated how it's done by scanning one of the penthouse key through the sensor before pressing 'P'. The lift ascended. "If you girls are need anything just call room service. Everything's paid for. The CEO of the resort wants you to enjoy your stay here." They reached their floor and exited the elevator to a little lounge area with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the sea. At the far corner there is a bar.

"Wow" Chiori said

"This bar/lounge is exclusively for use only of the occupants of the penthouses, it will be open 24/7 when there are guest in this area. It will officially open when the hotel opens to public." Kurosaki explained.

They continued walking down the hall to the left for a minute before the Director stopped in front of a door to his right. He got the key and opened it.

"This is your room." Kurosaki motioned for them to enter. "This is the living room" Kurosaki said motioning to a very elegant sitting room which contain the girls' luggage at the moment. "The dining room and kitchen through here" He said continuing his tour. "Down this hall are the bedrooms. The main bedroom has an Ensuite and the two bedrooms has to share a bathroom." He showing them each room. "It's up to you which room you decide to stay in." Kurosaki walked back to the living room followed by the three girls who are all in awe. He handed them each of their key. "I'll leave you to rest now. Kyoko-san I need you at the lounge area downstairs ready for filming at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Breakfast starts at six and closes at eleven at the where I met you downstairs. Breakfast are also available from some restaurants outside the hotel. Good night." The director walk to the door and left.

The girls were left to look around the luxurious penthouse.

"Wow!" Kanae was the first to speak. "This is so...Wow...I can't even describe it!"

Kyoko opened the door to the balcony that overlook the same scenery as the lounge offer.

"We better unpack and get some rest. You'll have an early start tomorrow Kyoko-san." Chiori said heading towards their luggage.

"So which room do you want?" Kyoko asked

"I don't really care. They're all nice." Chiori said

"What if you take the master bedroom Kyoko." Kanae said "You're the one staying the longest here." She added before Kyoko could reject the offer.

The girls took their things to their respective rooms and said good night to each other. Kyoko sat on the king size bed and took out her phone. She pressed one on her speed dial.

Ren was in his room, in the ryokan he was staying at with the rest of the filming crew. Yashiro's room is next to his. He's been in Hokkaido for three days now. And he's missing a certain golden eyed girl who at this moment is on the other side of the country. It's late and he's temped to call her now but he told himself to wait a little bit more she might be with the director right now and he didn't want to interrupt.

His phone buzz and he answered it before the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Good evening Ren-san" Kyoko's heart skipped a beat when she heard his voice.

"Good evening Kyoko-chan. How was your flight?" Ren smiled upon hearing his favourite sound in the world.

"Tiring but enjoyable."

"Are you at the hotel now?"

"Hai and its beautiful Ren-san." Kyoko said excitedly. "I'm staying at the penthouse with Moko and Chiori-san. And everything here is so luxurious! My bed is almost as big as yours. The bathtub I could swim in it." Ren could almost picture her excited face. "The balcony oversees the ocean. At the moment it's too dark to see much, but I'm sure the view will be breathtaking in the morning."

"I'm sure it will be. Just explore the resort while you're there and take note of all the nice places and activities available so on my next holiday I can go there and you can be my tour guide." Kyoko blushed at her senpai's implication that he wants to bring her along with him on his next holiday.

"I will." She said softly. Ren's smile became broader. 'Does that mean she'll go with me if I ask her to?' he thought. "How's your filming going?"

"It's good. We actually finished early today. The director was happy with all the scenes."

"Are you doing all your stunts?" Kyoko was worried because she knows that some scenes are actually dangerous.

"Only some." Ren said placating her. He doesn't really want her to worry. After the Dark Moon car incident Kyoko became overly anxious every time she hears him doing his own stunts.

"You have to be careful Ren-san. If the stunt is too dangerous please use a professional to do it." She said with a worried voice.

Ren was touched. "I will I promise." He decided to change the subject. "So have you met any of your co-stars there?"

"Not yet. Only Director Kurosaki. They're probably resting already when we arrive."

What Ren really wanted to know is if Murasame was there already. He tried again. "Are you filming any scene for CM three tomorrow?" This time he got the answer he wanted.

Kyoko was a bit puzzled why Ren's asking about CM three but she answered him. "Not yet. According to the schedule the director gave us, we should be finishing CM one tomorrow. Murasame-san won't be here until Sunday according to the Director."

"I see." Ren became quiet for a little bit. He wanted to tell her something but he doesn't know how to.

"Ren-san?"

"I'm still here."

"Is something the matter?"

"Nothing really. I think I'm just missing my ex-sister." He couldn't resist saying it though what he really wanted to say was 'I really really miss you' he rephrased it the last minute so not to freak her out.

"Nii-san I miss you too. But this is work." Setsu said though in Kyoko's mind if she was in full Setsu mode she probably drop everything just to see Cain.

Ren chuckled. "Maybe I should fly there just to see you."

"You wouldn't!" She said "You can't do that! You're too busy."

"I've got an excellent manager who can rearrange my schedule." He knows that Yashiro wouldn't mind doing the rearranging if he knows that Ren will be flying to see Kyoko. "Well at the rate we're going with this filming we probably be finish here by Friday afternoon instead of Friday night. The scene that was supposed to be filmed on Friday night was filmed today anyway. I'm due to be back at Tokyo on Saturday lunch so I really don't have anything scheduled on that day. I can fly there on Friday night straight from Hokkaido and leave Saturday late afternoon." Now that he voiced out the plan he has been thinking ever since he got to Hokkaido he was much temped to do it.

"Ren-san you should really use that time to re-change and relax." Kyoko said though the thought of seeing her senpai sooner is very appealing, she has to think of his health, therefore she must no to the idea.

"It sounds like you don't want to see me." Ren said sounding Sulky.

Kyoko smiled at her senpai's childishness. "It's not that I don't want to see you. It's just that I don't want you to be so tired. Yashiro-san probably didn't schedule anything on Saturday so you can recuperate."

Ren notice the time. "Speaking of tiredness, you are probably really tired now. I better let you go now. Don't girls need their beauty sleep? Not that you need it."

Kyoko completely ignored the last comment about the beauty sleep but said. "I guess you're right. Now that you mention it, It's pretty tiring travelling. I'll talk to you tomorrow Ren-san."

"Good night Kyoko-chan"

"Good night Ren-san. And remember your promise that you won't do the dangerous stunts." She reminded her.

"I will do just the easy stunts. Sweet dreams Kyoko-chan" He said followed by the really soft 'I love you" and a kiss before he disconnect the call.

* * *

><p>In Tokyo that afternoon a handsome middle age man wearing a white, button down shirt and dark slacks entered Takarada Lory's office.<p>

"Haruto, long time no see!" Lory got up from his seat to give his long time friend a friendly hug.

"As eccentric as ever I see." Yamamoto Haruto said looking at his friend's attire. Today the president is wearing a Spartan warrior costume complete with helmet, shield, sword and gladiator sandals. "How long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"Too long my friend. Have a sit. Cigar?" Lory offered.

"Thanks" Haruto accepted one.

"When did you arrive?" Lory asked

"I've been back in Japan for just over two years now."

"That long and you only came to see me know?"

"My apologies" Haruto said "I've been really busy with the building of my new project. A resort in Okinawa. I came here today to personally invite you to attend the opening of Yakiko Resort next month."

"Yakiko Resort, that's the commercial my Love Me girls are filming. So you're the owner of that resort."

"Love Me girls?"

"Yes, that's a new department in my agency. Well it's been almost two years since I've created that department. I created it because of a young girl who's talented but lacking in love." Lory seeing his friend's interest in the story started explaining further. "Mogami Kyoko, my number one Love me girl audition here almost two years ago. I saw potential and talent in her but she's lost her ability to love due to hard life experiences. I really cannot talk about it in details but all I can say is that child had a very difficult childhood."

Apart from wanting to see his old friend Haruto had another reason why he went to see Takarada Lory. He wanted to find more information about the young actress who look like his wife.

"What is she like?" Haruto asked. "Is she intelligent? Kind? What is she like?"

Lory looked at his friend "Why the sudden interest in Mogami Kyoko?" he asked instead of answering.

"She's representing my resort I just want to know her better." Haruto answered. But Lory wasn't convinced.

"Haruto, we've been friends ever since college. I know you very well. You have another reason why you want to know Mogami-kun better. Now spill it."

Haruto thought for a moment before deciding to let his friend know the real reason. He trust Lory and he might be able to help in finding the truth. He took a deep breath before answering.

"Do you remember Akiko?"

"You're late daughter. What about her?"

"Thirteen years ago when the police gave us a body of a four years old girl to identify, we didn't hesitate to identify her as Akiko because of the evidence presented to us. We didn't even think about having a DNA test. We just accepted that Akiko pasted away. A few weeks ago, when Haruki came back from US I decided to give him the job of promoting the new Resort. He asked his friends help to do it. Ushio showed him a video of Mogami-san. Haruki noticed that she's got the same eye colour as him." He pause to let that sink in.

"So that's how they pick Mogami-kun. But what's that got to do with Akiko?" Lory asked then a suddenly he remembered his friend last statement. 'She's got the same eye colour as him'. Kyoko's got the unusual golden brown eyes. "Are you saying Mogami-kun might be Akiko?"

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Thank you for reading and reviewing.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

**Chapter 7**

"Are you saying Mogami-kun might be Akiko?" Lory said in disbelief. He looked at his friend and sigh. "Apart from the eyes what else do you have to support this theory?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I've told you before I've known you for a long time. And having the same eye colour wouldn't convince you enough to entertain this theory."

"You're right. Do you remember how Akemi looked like? Probably not. Here." He handed him a picture of his wife.

Lory studied the picture in hand and tried to imagine Kyoko with long black hair. "Mogami-kun does look like Akemi-san if she had long black hair." Lory commented. "What are you planning to do?"

"Actually I don't know yet. Haruki is already convinced that she's Akiko and I'm afraid of what it will do to him if this turns out to be false."

Lory studied his friend. "Haruki is not the only one who's hoping." He stated. "Have you met her in person?"

Haruto was startled by his friend's statement. He remembered that Lory can always read him like an open book. "That's the reason why I didn't want to meet her in person yet." He confessed. "There's a tiny hope in my heart and I know if I see her now I will not be able to control my emotions."

"I supposed you want me to tell you things I know about her."

"You can always tell what's on my mind."

Lory sighed "So what information have you gotten from your private investigator so far?"

Haruto laughed sheepishly "She's an only child of Mogami Saena and her mother left her in the care of her friend who owns a ryokan. She moved to Kyoto when she was four. Her father is unknown even to her. She's a good student. After middle school she moved to Tokyo with her friend. She worked in various jobs until she started working for you." Haruto list down everything he knows from the top of his head.

Lory arched one eyebrow up and said "You know everything, what do you need me for?"

"Well I know the basic things about her. But what I really want to know is what is she like? Is she temperamental? Is she shy? Her traits. You work with her, you know her well."

"Hmmm...You know you should talk to her to get to know her."

"Lory please."

"Ok. She's quite an interesting girl. If she really is Akiko, I would say she's very intelligent like you. She got full marks on her entrance exam and the principal of her school told me that she's actually the top of the class. She never back down on a challenge. She supposedly lost the ability love but she's got plenty of love to share with the people around her. It's the ability to fall in love that she'd lost. She's extremely caring like Akemi. She usually thinks of others needs before hers. She's a very talented actress. She's graceful, hard working and extremely humble. She's a very good cook too. She single-handedly planed the menu for Maria's grateful party. Maria calls her Onee-sama. She loves fairytales..."

"Does she?" Haruto said suddenly cutting Lory.

"Yes, Why?"

"Akiko loves them too. Haruki kept all her fairytale books. Everything is still in her room at the mansion." A look of nostalgia came across Haruto's face.

"Have you been back to the mansion?"

"Not yet. I'm not ready. That house is full of memories that I cannot handle yet." He answered sadly

"Where have you been staying then?"

"Everywhere. I move from Hokkaido to Niigata or I stay in Nagoya or Osaka. My first year back here I stayed in Okinawa due to the construction of the resort. I'll be flying to Hokkaido tomorrow to meet the contractors I'm hiring for the expansion of my ryokan there."

"I see. Then you'll meet some of my actors there. They are filming a new drama called Hunters."

"So it's your company that hired the Ryokan for filming."

"Not my company. But I know the producer of the drama and I just mentioned that your Ryokan is the best one in Hokkaido."

"Well thank you for bringing us business. So who are your actors staying in my Ryokan?"

"Ito Takeshi, Fujimoto Yuki and Tsuruga Ren."

"Yuki is still as popular as ever huh?"

"Hai, she takes on mother roles now. She still asked about you, I think she still has a crush on you. You broke her heart twice you know. First when you got married, then when you left for America. Maybe you should ask her out to dinner" Lory teased.

Haruto chuckled "No time right now." Haruto can see a long lecture coming from his friend about love as soon as he said that. So he decided to bring the conversation back to Kyoko. "So do you think you can help me talk to Kyoko-san about having a DNA test?"

"I supposed that's the best way to get the truth out, but we have to be careful in explaining things to her. She might get hurt if we don't do this right, emotionally and career wise."

"I know. That's why I came to you. You know how to handle this discreetly."

"Ok. Let's wait til Mogami-kun comes back from your resort then we can set up a meeting with her. But for now I'm hungry. Let's have dinner."

"Where?"

"I feel like having Mexican food tonight. Let's go to our favourite Mexican restaurant."

"You're going like that?"

"Of course not! Let me just get change."

"You're not wearing that hat and that poncho again! Are you?"

"Haruto you should know me by now. I don't wear the same costume twice. I have a new hat and ponchos to wear for tonight so don't worry. After all a Mexican outfit wouldn't be complete without them."

Haruto just rolled his eyes and waited for his friend. 'Lory will always be Lory' he thought.

* * *

><p>Kyoko woke up early the next morning, excited see the rest of the resort. She has a full schedule of filming today and won't be able to explore the place by herself. But at least she'll get to see the place as they go from one location to the other. She made a mental note to bring a notebook and a pen so she could write down places that will interest Ren when he decides to visit the place. Kyoko smiled at the thought of her senpai. "He should be up by now" she said her thoughts out loud. "He has an early start today. Hopefully he doesn't forget to eat breakfast."<p>

Kyoko grabbed her phone from the side table and started texting Ren.

SMS- Good morning Ren-san. Don't forget your breakfast.

She put her phone down and entered the bathroom to start her morning routine. While she was brushing her teeth she heard her message tone. She rinsed her mouth and went back in the room to check the message.

Ren - I didn't forget it. In fact I'm having one right now.

Kyoko – What? Coffee? That's not breakfast.

Kyoko went to the closet and got change into a pink and white polka-dot sleeveless summer dress.

Ren – How rude! FYI I'm having a healthy breakfast.

Kyoko – Onigiri? That's not healthy.

Kyoko made her bed.

Ren – No...Toast and scrambled egg

Kyoko – good you're having something solid.

She grabbed a note book and pen and put it in her bag. She went back to the closet and grabbed her pink Havaianas.

Ren – how about you? Have you had breakfast?

Kyoko – I'm on my way to get some. And to meet the director and cast.

Kyoko went out into the hallway. She knocked softly at Kanae's door. She listened, no answer. She walked to Chiori's door and did the same thing. No answer. 'They might still be sleeping' she thought. She took out the note book and pen from her bag and wrote a message to let her friends know that she has gone down already and that she'll meet them later.

Ren – I see. Itadakimasu. I'm off to start the shoot. Have fun filming.

Kyoko – Ok, you too. Be careful doing the stunts.

Kyoko went out of the room and walked towards the elevator.

Ren – I will I promise...Talk to you later. What time are you going to be finish?

Kyoko – About 9:30pm. I'll call you when I finish. Now go to work and have fun!

Ren – Ok, talk to you then. Bye.

After breakfast Kyoko, Director Kurosaki and the crew want straight to the outdoor pool area for their first shoot of the day. While Kyoko was getting her makeup done and costume changed, the director took this opportunity to give the extras some instructions. The director has been using the resort staff as extras. Kyoko came out after 15 minutes wearing a red, halter, boyleg one piece suit. She also had a large brimmed hat and sunglasses. She had minimal makeup and they left her hair as it is.

"Good you're here." Kurosaki said "We can start now. Ready Kyoko-san?" She nodded. "You're got no lines in this scene only action. Ok places every one. And Action."

**Commercial 1Scene 6**

_ Akane walked towards the pool area and found an empty chair to put her stuff down. She took out her Samsung galaxy SII and took a short video of her surroundings. And posted it in her facebook. She put her phone away, took her hat and sunglasses off and dove in the pool. She swam a lap and went back to her chair and sat down to soak up some sun. A waiter came with her drink. She took it and smiled at him._

"Cut!" Director Kurosaki shouted. "Kento-san you're supposed to bow and leave after Akane smiles. Ok. We'll start from when Akane gets out of the pool!" Kurosaki said to everyone.

Kento the waiter started apologizing to everyone. Kyoko got up. "No need to apologize too much. NG's are part of filming." She said kindly to the still apologizing extra. She went back into the pool.

"Ok everyone! Places and Action!"

_Akane got out of the pool and sat down on her chair. The waiter brought her drink. She took it and smiled. The waiter bowed and left. Akane took a little sip of her drink and put it down. She took her book out from her bag and started reading._

"Cut. That was a good take." The director shouted. "Kyoko-san we'll check that and if everything is ok we will head up to apartment 1228 in the twelfth floor to film scene one of the first CM." Kyoko nodded.

The director went to check what they just filmed.

The waiter and two other girls approached Kyoko.

"Uumm...Kyoko-san can we please have your autograph?" One of the girls said.

"Sure." Kyoko said. She still feels embarrassed whenever she gets asked for her autograph. Ren always tells her that being popular is a big part of being a celebrity. The more people recognise you the better. "What's you name?"

"Rei" the girl answered excitedly. "I'm a fan of yours. I watched every episode of Box R."

"To Rei, Thank you for your support. Always, Kyoko a.k.a Natsu." Kyoko handed the paper back to Rei.

"Thank you so much Kyoko-san." Kyoko smiled and took the other girl's paper.

"And what's your name?"

"Miki" The girl answered shyly.

"To Miki, All the best. Always Kyoko." Kyoko wrote and handed the paper back.

"Kyoko-san I just want to say that I think you're so pretty." The shy girl said. Kyoko blushed.

"Thank you. Your pretty too Miki-san." The actress replied with a warm smile.

"Can I also take a picture with you?" Miki asked.

"Me too." Rei said.

"Sure." The two girls sat on each side of Kyoko and asked Kento to take the picture. After several pictures the two girls thanked Kyoko again before leaving together. Kento handed Kyoko his notebook for her to sign.

"To Kento, Thank you for the drink. Always Kyoko a.k.a Akane." She handed the paper back and smiled. Kento froze for a second before accepting the paper with a shaky hand.

Mayu the makeup artist approached Kyoko. She smiled at the sight of the blushing fan staring at Kyoko.

"Kyoko-san, the director sent me to get you. He said everything's fine and he wants me to do your costume and makeup for the first scene down here before accompanying you upstairs."

"Ok. Thank you." Kyoko said to Mayu then she turned to Kento and said "Thank you for your help today Kento-san." She got up and bowed before following Mayu, leaving a stunned extra.

The morning shoot went well. Kyoko met up with her two friends and roommates during lunch break. They've decided to have lunch at the one of the restaurant outside the hotel. They chose to have Italian and now are seated in the said restaurant waiting for the waiter.

"So how was filming this morning?" Kanae asked Kyoko.

"It all went well. No difficult scene really. Just did the poolside scene in the morning and the planning-the-holiday-with-the-family scene before lunch. How was your day so far?"

"Superb!" Chiori said. "We woke up at around nine. Went down to have breakfast and just lounge around the pool area. We missed the shoot by maybe half an hour. When we got there they were packing up."

"How long is your lunch break?" Kanae asked.

"I'm meeting everyone at the entrance for the arrival scene at four. So I have three hours."

"Wanna go around and check the shopping area here?" Kanae asked both the girls.

"That's fine with me. I need to buy some souvenir for my mum." Chiori said.

"Mo! You're lucky you only have your mum to buy souvenirs for. If I have to buy my family each a souvenir then I'll have to spend the whole trip buying them and not to mention I'll be in debt by the end of it."

Kyoko giggled. "Don't exaggerate Moko-san! It's not that bad."

Kanae looked at her. "Who's exaggerating? You've seen my family."

Before Kyoko could answer their waiter arrived.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked.

"Oh Kento-san! It's nice to see you again." Kyoko said recognising the extra this morning. "These are my friends; Kotonami Kanae and Amamiya Chiori. Girls this is Kento-san. He played the waiter in the pool scene." She introduced him.

"Nice to meet you." Kento said bowing to the two ladies. The two actresses were amused to see another guy added to Kyoko's growing list of admirers.

"Nice to meet you too." The two actresses said. They ordered their meals.

After their meal they proceed to pay but they were informed that all the cast and crew's meals are free while they are filming in the resort. They thank the staff in the restaurant and went to walk around the shopping area. They found a few clothing boutiques, the jewellery store they will promote, some shoe stores, a couple of gift stores, a toy store, a pharmacy and a florist.

Chiori bought her mum a nice bag from one of the boutiques and several fridge magnets that says Okinawa, since her mother likes collecting fridge magnets from different places they've been to.

Kanae bought a couple of board games for her younger siblings, nieces and nephews to play with. She ended up buying a few tops and shirts for her older siblings and their spouses, even though she complained that she'll be broke after all these spending.

Kyoko bought a nice dress for the Okami and a polo shirt for the Taishio. While looking around in the toy shop with Kanae, Kyoko found a stuffed toy chicken that reminded her of Bo. With Ren in mind she bought it. She wanted to give it to Ren but she doesn't know how to explain the reason she wanted him to have it.

At quarter to four the three girls started walking back to the hotel. As soon as they arrived Kyoko was swept into the dressing room to get her makeup and costume done. The two girls decided to watch the shoot for a while.

* * *

><p>Ren checked the time, its 6:30. He has to wait another three hours before he could talk to Kyoko and he's getting a bit impatient. He had a rough day today and all he wanted to do now is to hear Kyoko's voice, which he knew would make him feel better. The shoot was cut short for today because the leading lady was having a hard time concentrating while acting opposite to Ren. He wanted to finish all the scenes he has by Friday morning the latest so that he could fly to Okinawa to spend a little time with Kyoko. But due to this set back, it looks like he won't be seeing her until she goes back to Tokyo next week. He missed her so much that it's driving him crazy. He decided to go for a drink to calm his nerves while waiting for Yashiro to finish rearranging his schedule.<p>

Yamamoto Haruto entered one of the restaurants in his Ryokan and that's where he found the number one actor in Japan sitting by himself near the bar.

"Son, you look troubled." He said as he approached the actor.

Ren look up to find a middle age, fatherly looking man talking to him. His expression reminded him of his own father when Kuu wants to talk about Kuon's troubles.

"Mind if I joined you?" Haruto asked.

"No, be my guest." Ren answered gesturing for the older man to seat. Ren studied the older man's face. He decided that he's about a three or four years older than Kuu. He's manners is of rich people and he's dressed in smart casual attire. He ordered a martini.

"I'm Yamamoto Haruto." Haruto said extending his hand in front of him for a handshake.

"Tsuruga Ren" Ren answered not even bothering to hide his identity. He shook Haruto's hand.

"You looked so troubled and lonely son. I'm guessing its girl troubles." Haruto said with a sympathetic smile.

Haruto's expression and manners being like his own father made Ren relaxed. He really needed to get things off his chest and Haruto is lending his ears so he took the offer.

"How did you know?"

"I've got a twenty-five year old son." Haruto said as an explanation. "The longing look on your face tells me that you're missing her."

Ren was amazed at this man's accuracy in reading his expression. He was speechless.

Haruto chuckled at Ren's expression. "My son went through this phased too. He was studying overseas when his girlfriend, now fiancé had to go back here in Japan. He had the same look as yours." He explained. "So was I right about what's troubling you?"

"Hai. But she's not my girlfriend."

"Not your girlfriend, but you want her to be?"

Ren nodded.

"Have you asked her out yet?"

Ren shook his head no.

"Why not? Does she have a boyfriend by any chance?

"No. It's just that she's not ready to have a boyfriend."

"Why?"

"Because some brainless fool of a guy broke her heart and told her that she's plain and boring, not worth loving. So she built a wall around her heart"

"Maybe she's just waiting for the right guy. Just ask her. What are you afraid of?"

"Her running away from me." Ren answered honestly.

"If she ran away then chase her. Just keep chasing her until she realise that you're different from that guy who broke her heart. Show her how much you love her and eventually this will soften her heart."

"It's more complicated than that."

"I see, I can tell that you won't be telling me what's complicating things."

Ren remained silent.

"Well I'll give you the same advice I gave my son. This is from my experience. When she was still here, back then, whenever I missed my wife I used to send her little things like little notes and love letters. Sometimes flowers and candies. I even sent her a puppy one time while I was in studying overseas. That was when we were not married yet. You might ask how this will lessen my yearning for her. Well every time I sent something I think about how she would react and how much she would think about me. How happy I could make her. It made me feel better thinking I'm making her smile even when I'm not with her." Haruto finished his drink and pat Ren on the back. "Try it son, once you hear her happy voice thanking you, you'll feel a lot better. And think about confessing soon. I'll see you later." Haruto got up and signal something to the bartender before he left.

Ren's phone rang. It was Yashiro telling Ren that he will meet him at the main restaurant for dinner and to discuss some changes in his schedule. Ren sighed and got up to meet Yashiro.

* * *

><p>Kyoko was greeted by a bouquet of flowers and a small golden bear when she entered the penthouse after her shoot.<p>

"What are those?" She asked.

Chiori laughed at Kyoko's dreamy reaction while Kanae rolled her eyes. "Delivery for you." Chiori answered.

"From whom?"

"Don't know. Check the card." Said Kanae. Though both Chiori and Kanae could guess who it is from.

Kyoko reached for the envelope that the bear was holding.

'Thinking of you always. R.' Kyoko blushed bright red after reading the note.

"Is it from Tsuruga-san?" Chiori inquired.

"What did the note says?" Kanae asked Kyoko handed the note to Kanae. "Thinking of you always. R." She read out loud.

"R is for Ren right?" said Chiori.

"I think so." Kyoko said with a big smile that she couldn't hide.

"So are you going out now?" was Chiori's next question.

"No, we're not. We're just friends."

"Mo! Just start dating him Kyoko. You're like a couple anyway. Talking to each other every night. Going for breakfast dates, lunch dates and dinner dates. You even cook for the guy. Just make it official and date him." Kanae said to her friend.

"Moko-saaaannnnnn..." Kyoko started to say but Kanae cut her off.

"Mo! Don't you dare deny it. The whole LME knows that you both have feelings for each other. Only both of you won't admit it."

"It's not like that Moko. Ren-san and I doesn't have that kind of relationship."

"Mo! Say whatever you want Kyoko but I'm telling you, that boy is in love with you!"

Kyoko looked at Chiori and Chiori nodded her agreement to what Kanae said. Kyoko's smile disappeared and Kanae felt sorry.

"Look Kyoko we know you're not ready to admit it to yourself but you have to start being honest about your feelings. You're a good actress but not a good liar. You cannot hide your feelings from us. We want you to be happy and we want to help you find your happiness but you have to help yourself too." Kanae explained.

Kyoko touched by her friend's words decided to be honest about her fears. She explained about her all the people that left her. She even explained about corn. He friend listened and didn't laugh. "...See if I start loving Ren he'll leave too." She finished her explanation.

"Kyoko do you really believe that people you love will leave you?" Kanae asked angrily. Kyoko, taken aback by her friend's sudden anger only nodded. "If you really believe that all the people you love will leave you then that means you really don't love us your friends." Kanae concluded.

"Moko-san!" Kyoko gasped "I love you and Chiori"

"Then that means that you believe that Chiori and I will leave you to make your theory plausible." Kyoko was speechless. "How about Maria-chan? Either you do not love her or you do but you think she'll hurt you later by leaving you."

"No that's not it Moko." Kyoko whispered with teary eyes.

"Well your theory has a lot of holes then Kyoko. You're basing it on three people who hurt you. Or I should say only two people because your Fairy prince doesn't count because according to you he didn't have a choice. He wanted to stay but he couldn't. Two stupid people who didn't appreciate you against the couple you live with who loves you like they would love their own child. Against Maria, Chiori and I who thinks of you as a sister."

"It's true you're like a sister to me." Chiori said agreeing with Kanae

"Against our President who supports your career and continue to teach you love." Kanae continued making her point. "Even Tsuruga-san's manager treats you like his younger sister. And can you really compare Sho-baka to Tsuruga-san?"

"No" Kyoko said starting to understand Kanae's point. "Ren always supported and helped me while it's the other way around when I was with Sho." She admitted.

"The point is you shouldn't be afraid to love because a lot of people are willing to love you back. Not all people are like Sho or your mother." Kanae ended her argument speech.

A few moments of silence, "Thank you Moko-san and thank you Chiori-san" Kyoko said walking towards the two girls and giving them each a hug. "Thank you for being such good friends. "

"We're friends so we support each other. Come on group hug!" Chiori said.

"Mo! What for?" the two girls looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "Ok just this once!" She gave in.

The girls gave each other a group hug.

Kyoko's phone started ringing. "Ok that's enough drama for tonight." Chiori said

"We're going to bed now so answer your phone and thank you prince charming for the eleven roses he sent you. And the bear too."Kanae added.

"Eleven? Are you sure? Not twelve?" Kyoko walked towards her bag which she left on the coffee table.

"Nope. Just eleven. Chiori and I thought it was weird too. Night Kyoko and think about what I said about dating that tall senpai of yours. End his misery already."

"Moko..." Kanae laugh as she followed Chiori to the rooms.

"Nite girls!" Chiori called out before entering her room.

Kyoko answered her phone with a smile.

"Good evening Ren-san."

"Hello Kyoko-chan. How's your day?"

"I was really tired from filming all day but when I received a beautiful bouquet of red roses and a cute bear suddenly I wasn't tired anymore."

"Do you like them?"

"Of course I do. But what made you think about sending them?"

"I talked to this guy and he gave me some advice. He said that when he misses his wife he sends her little things and every time he does it made her smile and when he thinks about how he's making her smile even when he wasn't with her, this makes him feel better."

"That's very nice. She must be very happy."

"I would think so too. So are you smiling? Did I make you smile?"

"Yes you did."

"That's good. It works."

"I especially like the bear. I used to have one very similar to this one, but I lost it."

"It's too bad that you lost it. Do you remember how you lost it?"

"Yeah, I left it on the train when we were moving to Kyoto. I used to love that bear and I used take it everywhere with me. I think I named it Ko."

"Ko? Is that short for Kyoko?"

"Not really sure how I named it but I remember calling it Ko."

"Well then I'm glad I gave you a bear. It can be a sort-of-replacement for your Ko. What are you going to name your bear?"

"I don't know. Maybe you can help me find a suitable name for it."

"Is our Baby bear a girl or a boy? I've always like the name Akiko ever since I was young. We could name your bear that." He said.

"No. I think this little bear is a boy. How about Ken?"

"That would work. Kyoko and Ren together equals Ken. Or Ryou would be good too. R from Ren and you from Kyou in your name."

"Ren-san we're not naming our child here but a bear so stop putting our names together. I like the name Ryou though."

Ren was just ecstatic after hearing Kyoko say 'our child' and his wild imagination started thinking about the future.

"Ren-san are you still there?"

"Yes, sorry, just thing. We'll name your bear Ryou then." Kyoko's gaze fell on the flowers that was still on the coffee table.

"Ummm...Ren-san were you supposed to send a dozen roses?"

"Why?"

"Well there were only eleven delivered here. Either the florist miscounted the flowers or you only have enough money to buy eleven."

Ren chuckled at Kyoko's joke. "That could be it. I bought the bear first and I ran out of money to buy the twelfth rose. I'm still working to save the money for it, so I'll give you the twelfth flower when I see you in Tokyo."

"Ren-san seriously, was it only supposed to be eleven flowers?"

"Yes. I wanted to give you the twelfth rose personally. So you'll have to wait."

"Ok. I'll wait."

"I guess I have to let you go to bed now. It's getting late." Ren said reluctantly.

"I guess. Plus you need to rest too. So good night Ren-san."

"Nite Kyoko-chan."

"Thank you again for the flowers and for Ryou"

"My pressure. Sweet dreams." 'Love you' and a silent kiss before disconnecting.

Kyoko took a vase and retrieved her flowers and bear from the coffee table before going into her bedroom. Inside she arrange the roses in the vase with water. Put her bear on the bed and started getting ready for bed.

Half an hour later she's in bed hugging her new bear. "It's not so bad to fall in love with Ren is it Ryou?" she thought out loud before falling asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>It was Thursday, seven o'clock in the morning, when Lory received the call. He was in the middle of deciding whether he should wear his King Arthur attire or Merlin the magician.<p>

"President, phone call in line one." His secretary said.

"Tell them to leave a message and I'll call them back."

"Uummmm...President Its Director Kurosaki and he said it's very urgent and it's an emergency."

Lory grabbed the phone immediately after hearing it's an emergency and pressed line one.

"Tell me that all my Love Me girls are Ok!"

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Ok that's it for today. I have to go back to work. Happy reading. I already have a plot for the next few chapters, I just need to write it. I'm also thinking about how to write the proposal for the CM. If you have any suggestions and comments please let me know. Thank you.


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! or any of its character.

**Chapter 8**

"Tell me that all my Love Me girls are Ok!"

"Sorry to disturb you President Takarada. Yes your love me girls are all Ok and doing well."

"That's good! For a minute there you scared me. I thought something happened to my girls. So what is the big emergency then?"

"I really need your help...There was an accident in..."

* * *

><p>The three love me girls left the penthouse at seven o'clock to start their day with breakfast.<p>

"I can't believe we're going biking today." Chiori said "I haven't been on a bike since I was ten. I wonder if I could still ride it."

"Don't worry Chiori-san riding a bike is a skill you don't lose even if you haven't done it for a while. So you'll be fine." Kyoko said.

"Mo! Why can't we just jog instead? I'm more comfortable with that."

"I don't really mind jogging too but it's more fun to go biking."

"Mo! You're used to biking that's why."

"Oh! Moko-san I'm sorry I'm being selfish. Maybe we can talk to Director Kurosaki to change it to jogging instead. I'm really sorry I didn't think about what you want to do..."

"Mo! Will you stop that! I didn't say you're being selfish plus that's what in the script. We are actresses we do what is in the script that's our jobs."

* * *

><p>As soon as Lory ended his conversation with Kurosaki he dialled another number. The person answered after the third ring.<p>

"What took you so long to answer your phone?" the President said with a pout before the other person could say anything.

"Good morning President. Sorry I had to put my gloves on before I could answer my phone." Yashiro said.

"Ok you're forgiven. So how's our boy doing?"

"He's been filming ever since six this morning. So far no NG's yet, not from him anyway."

"I'm not asking about filming. How is he doing with the fact that he hasn't seen Kyoko in almost a week?"

"He's restless lately. He wanted to finish the shoot quickly but they had a little problem with the actress playing the main role. Let's just say 'The Co-star killer' strike again."

"He wanted to finish the shoot early? Why?"

"I think he was planning to visit Kyoko-chan at Okinawa before going back to Tokyo. But with his schedule right now that would be impossible. Or so he thought. He's actually got a cancellation for his Sunday shoot with Director Ogata. And I haven't scheduled anything that day, so Sunday is a day off for him. He can fly out to Okinawa on Saturday after his interview for Bachelor magazine."

"That's good. I need his schedule cleared all day Saturday too. Sunday is not a problem anymore, I need to clear the Monday schedule too and maybe Tuesday until lunch time..."

"President?" Yashiro was a bit confused.

"He will be filming with Kyoko at Yakiko resort. Director Kurosaki just called and they needed a replacement for Murasame due to an injury. I thought I should end Ren's misery by volunteering him as a replacement. Don't tell him yet. I want this to be a surprise. After the filming tomorrow afternoon my private jet will be waiting for you at the airport. You will be flying straight to Okinawa and Director Kurosaki will be there to meet you at the resort. Have you got enough clothes for another four days?"

"Yes, we should be fine. I'll get all our clothes laundried today." Yashiro said excitedly. "Do I have to go with him President? Won't I be in the way if I have to tag along with Ren as his manager?"

"Well it's up to you Yashiro-kun. I know Ren can manage going to Okinawa without you and Kyoko is there to take care of him. But do you really want to miss the scene when Ren proposes to Kyoko?"

"NO WAY WILL I MISS THAT!" Yashiro said a bit too loud that people around him stared.

"Ok then. Give me Ren's schedule so I can fix it."

* * *

><p>The girls finished their breakfast and went straight to get their makeup and costume done before meeting Director Kurosaki who was on the phone talking to someone. They sat on a bench and waited for the director to finish his call.<p>

"Ok girls" Kurosaki said as soon as he reached the girls. "There are few changes in our schedules. We will still be doing the bike riding this morning but the beach scene will be done on Saturday early morning. The schedule for after lunch will still be the same and tomorrow the scene for the wedding will be moved on Saturday too. We will also have a new groom due to Murasame-san's accident..." The girls looked concerned.

"Is he ok?" Kyoko asked.

"Hai, he's fine now. He fractured his ankle while doing one of his stunts and he won't able to do film with us. Another actor would be coming tomorrow night, so we will be filming the wedding scenes with everyone on Saturday."

"Who's the new groom Director?" Kanae asked.

"I don't know yet either. I called President Takarada this morning to ask him if he could send one of this talents and he said he'll make arrangement. When he called back an hour later he said that everything is arranged and that the new groom will be here tomorrow night. He wouldn't say who he's sending. His exact words were 'It's a surprise and don't worry this actor is one of the best in Japan.' So even I don't know who it will be until I meet him tomorrow night."

Chiori and Kanae exchanged a knowing look.

"Ok we will start the shoot. You girls will be biking around the bike trail and we will just follow you with the camera. Just relax and enjoy the scenery.

The girls didn't even notice that they were cycling for more than thirty minutes. They were enjoying the picturesque scenery of the resort that they almost forgot to they were filming.

"Cut! That was beautiful girls! So natural." The Director praised them. "Its half past nine now. You girls can go and relax until half past one. We'll meet again at the spa room at two, be at the makeup room by quarter to two. I'll see you then." The director walked towards the hotel while the girls went back to the makeup trailer to change into their own clothes.

"Who do you think the President will send to be the new groom?" Chiori asked the two girls.

"Could it be Tsuruga-san?" Kanae said.

"No it can't be him." Kyoko answered. "He's still in Hokkaido filming and then Sunday all day he is scheduled to shoot his new movie with Director Ogata. He's really busy. He has no time to film this CM." Kyoko further explained with a blush.

The two girls decided not to comment. They finished changing and decided to just relax at the beach.

* * *

><p>"So, how's the filming going?" Haruki asked his friend when Kurosaki met him at lunch.<p>

"Fine, a few minor changes in the cast but everything's great all my actors and actresses are professionals. We hardly get NG's."

"That's good. How's Kyoko-san?"

"She's fine. I've notice, have you been avoiding her?"

"A bit."

"Why?"

"Because I spoke to Otou-san last Tuesday and he warned me that I shouldn't get my hopes up too much. I'm afraid that everytime I see her, my hopes gets bigger. I watched her act some scene yesterday though and I must admit she's very good."

"I see what Haruto ji-san means. I myself am hoping that she really is Akiko. But the possibility is very slim. Especially when there's evidence that she was in that train."

"I know that's why I'm trying to stay away. The more I look at her the more I'm getting convinced that she's my sister. Speaking of sisters, yours is coming here today."

"You invited Nanami? Are you crazy?"

"Of course I invited my fiancé. What's wrong with that?"

"She's going to go nuts! She's one of Kyoko-san's biggest fans! And she will be following her everywhere."

"I guess I'll be ignored then." Haruki chuckled.

"Most definitely! What time is she coming?"

"She should be here this afternoon. Maybe around five."

"Keep her away from my shoot alright! I have to talk to her before letting her loose in the set."

"Ok I promise not to let her go near the set this afternoon."

Kurosaki eyed his friend doubtfully. Haruki is a tough guy but he can be a pushover when it comes to his fiancé. They continue eating and talking until it was time for Kurosaki to go back to work.

* * *

><p>The girls went back to the set after eating lunch. There were minor changes in the sequence of the filming but all in all everything went smoothly. By the end of the day they were relaxed and happy especially after the full body massage they've received while filming. Now they are back in their penthouse just hanging around before going to bed.<p>

"It's very nice of Director Kurosaki to let us have a full massage and facial before doing the next scene." Chiori commented.

"Yeah I could get use to this." Kanae said contently.

"It's so relaxing" Kyoko added while writing in her note book.

"What are you doing?" Kanae asked

"Writing down places that I think Ren-san would enjoy."

"Why? Are you planning to have your honeymoon here?" Chiori said teasingly.

Kyoko's mouth dropped open and she blush tomato red. "Oh my gosh! Don't say things like that Chiori-san. People might hear and they might get the wrong idea! Ren-san just wanted me to write down the places he could visit if ever he gets a change to go on holiday here." She hurriedly explained purposely leaving the part where Ren wanted her to be the tour guide.

"Relax Kyoko. Chiori was just teasing you." Kanae said trying to hide her amusement.

"That's not funny you guys! Ren-san's career's on the line here. What is someone hears and gets the wrong Idea. Rumours that we're dating might get started that can ruin his career!" Kyoko said defensively.

"Are you two dating Kyoko?" Kanae asked

"No."

"Do you want to date him?"

"I might."

"You might? What do you mean you might?"

"Well I thought about what you said last night..."

"And..."

"And I thought it might not be so bad to fall in love with Ren-san." Kyoko said shyly "After all he's quite different from Sho. Your speech last night made me realise a lot of things. And I want to thank you both for considering me as a friend and loving me as a sister." Kyoko walked towards her friends and gave them each a hug. Which Kanae gladly accepted this time.

"Mo! I'm glad you finally realised it!"

"Yay! You finally found your missing emotion!" Chiori cheered. "But does that mean you'll be graduating from the love me section?"

"Mo! You can't leave us behind! You're not allowed to leave even when you graduate!"

"Promise I'll stay until all of us graduates."

"Yay! Friends forever! Group hug!" Chiori gathered the two girls into a group hug, which was interrupted by a buzzing sound. (A/N: It seems that Chiori is a big fan of group hugs.)

"You're prince charming is calling." Kanae said glad that the group hug ended sooner than expected. The two girls excused themselves and went back to their own respected room.

"Hello Ren-san" Kyoko answered her phone breathlessly.

"Hi Kyoko-chan. You sound breathless..." 'Actually you sound so sexy' Ren thought "were you doing some exercise or something?"

"No, I was just talking to Moko and Chiori-san. And I said something that made Chiori-san happy so she made us do a group hug. I was breathless because she squeezed us too tight."

"So what did you say that made her so happy?"

"Uummm...I thanked them for being my friend?" She said more like a question. She didn't want to reveal the whole conversion to Ren so she changed the subject. "So how was your day?"

"Fine and long. I had to do seven scenes today. The stunts weren't that hard or dangerous. But they are tiring."

"Speaking of stunts, Murasame-san won't be able to do the CM due to a stunt accident. Apparently he fractured his ankle. And now he will be replaced by someone from LME. We don't know yet who, even the director doesn't know who it will be. All President Lory said was he will be sending someone and not to worry about it. It's not you is it?"

"Well as much as I would love to do the CM with you, I haven't really heard from the president or from Yashiro about it. Plus I know that my schedule is actually full."

"That's what I thought so too." Kyoko felt a bit disappointed that it's not Ren who will be replacing Murasame. "Who do you think it would be?"

"I have no idea. With the president choice it could be anyone. All the talents in LME are good candidates." Ren said trying to think of all the possible talents that the president could send.

"So how many more stunts do you have to do tomorrow?" Kyoko asked bringing back Ren from his thoughts.

"None. All the scenes tomorrow will be with the leading lady. The first, second and third meeting of the two main character. And the last scene will be drama instead of action."

"Is that the part we practise? Where you will have to cry? The part where your girlfriend dies?"

"Hai, the same one."

"Then you don't have to worry. You've nailed that scene when we were practicing. I'd be surprised if you get any NG in that scene."

"Wow! You have so much faith in me."

"Of course, you're Tsuruga Ren, number one actor in Japan."

"I hope I live up to your expectations."

"No worries about that! You're just perfect!" Kyoko blushed, she wasn't supposed to say that out loud. Ren Chuckled.

"I'm not perfect Kyoko-chan. In fact I'm very much flawed. You, on the other hand, is the perfect one." Ren knew he said too much and before Kyoko can protest about being perfect he decided to change the subject. "Are you going to have a busy day tomorrow? Or is it relaxing day?"

"Well because of the changes we will be free in the morning, filming starts at one." Kyoko knew Ren deliberately changed the subject so she just ignored his comment about her being perfect. Though her heart flutters knowing that Ren thinks she's perfect.

Kyoko heard a soft knock in Ren's end of the line.

"Please excuse me Kyoko-chan." She heard Ren moving towards the door and a few moments later the opening of the door.

"Good evening Ren" Kyoko heard Yashiro's familiar voice.

"Good evening Yashiro. Is something the matter?"

"Ah no, why do you say that?"

"You don't usually visit me this time of the night." Yashiro noticed Ren holding his phone and decided to tease the young actor.

"I'm just here to inform you that your scheduled change for tomorrow. The director wants to start the filming an hour early in case your co-star decides to melt again, after your kissing scene, just like last time." Yashiro smiled wickedly. That should make Kyoko a bit jealous.

Ren was horrified at what Yashiro just said and he's sure Kyoko heard it. How is he going to explain that the kiss was only a kiss on the cheek. The scene was, he's going to save her from a member of the Yakuza and before he goes she would grab him and give him a kiss on the cheek. That scene will lead to him remembering his ex-girlfriend who he met by saving her life. Then the scene Kyoko was talking about.

Ren gave his manager a murderous glare, he put his phone on the bed and practically pushed his manager out of his room. "I'll be in your room in a few minutes."He hissed before shutting the door.

Kyoko heard what Yashiro has said and she couldn't help but feel jealous. She was not the jealous type person. Even when Sho was draped by his adoring fans when they were in Kyoto she never ever felt jealousy. But now, after hearing someone will be kissing her Ren, it made her green with envy. She knows what scene Yashiro was talking about. It's the scene prior to the flashback, the flashback they were just talking about. The scene she was adamant not to rehearse with Ren, because she was afraid of what that little kiss could do to her weakened defences. It's just going be a kiss on the cheek but just thinking about someone else's lips touching Ren's cheek makes her squirm.

"Sorry about the interruption Kyoko-chan." Ren said sheepishly.

"No that's fine." Kyoko said trying to sound normal. Ren heard a bit of anger and frustration in her voice.

"Is something wrong Kyoko-chan?" He was puzzled by her tone.

"No, I think I'm just a bit tired." She lied. She wanted to end the phone call because she knows Ren would be able to sense her mood which is a bit sour right now. That would lead to a line of questioning from him until he's satisfied that he's gotten all the answers. That is a dangerous path to take right now. She's not ready to tell him her new found feelings for him.

"Oh! I think I better let you go to bed then." He said sounding disappointed. "Good night Kyoko-chan."

"Night Ren-san."

"Sweet dreams." 'I love you' and a soft kiss before he disconnected the call.

Kyoko looked at her phone and sighed deeply. A sudden longing to see her senpai swept over her. She grabbed her bag and took out her 'heavenly smile' Ren doll.

"You better not enjoy that kiss Tsuruga Ren or else..." She told the doll in her menacing voice while she runs her index finger across her neck.

That night she decided to sleep next to her doll and her bear. She kissed her Ren doll "just for practice." she said before closing her eyes and drifting to sleep.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

In case anyone's wondering what a 'Heavenly smile' Ren doll is...It's a doll made by Kyoko dressed as Cain Heel wearing a heavenly smile expression of Tsuruga Ren on its face. I just thought it would be fun to include her Ren dolls.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I already have an ending for this story. Maybe 4-5 more chapters and the story will be concluded.

Thank you to all who read and review.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

**Chapter 9**

Ren and Yashiro arrived at Hokkaido airport at 8:30 PM. They were greeted by President Lory and his cute granddaughter Maria.

"Ren-sama!" Maria ran to him as soon as she saw him walked into the private waiting room.

"Maria-chan" Ren was surprise to see the energetic Takarada. "What are you doing here?"

"Grandpa was bored and I was feeling lonely without you and Onee-sama so we decided to pick you up."

"Hello Ren, Hello Yashiro. How are you guys."

"Evening President." Yashiro said trying to control his excitement. Ren looked at his manager then his father's friend and back. He could feel that they are conspiring something but right now he's too exhausted to care. His shoot that was supposed to finish by four in the afternoon stretched until seven. He barely had time to shower and eat a small light dinner before they had to travel to the airport. Ren checked the time and excused himself. He went to another room and took out his phone and dialled a number from memory. The name 'Princess' could be seen on his phone screen. (A/N: instead of storing Kyoko's name in his phone directory he used princess.)

"Hello." Kyoko answered her phone as soon as he felt it vibrate. She received a message from her senpai earlier letting her know that he would be calling around this time.

"Evening Kyoko-chan."

"You sound tired." Kyoko said worriedly.

He chuckled. "Exhausted really but I'm fine. I even ate a light and healthy dinner already." He reassured her.

"I'm glad you ate but you have to allow more time for rest. Where are you now?"

"Hokkaido airport. I'll be boarding the plane soon. The president and Maria are here to pick me up."

"Oh I miss Maria" she said longingly.

"How about me? Don't you miss me?" He said with a sad voice.

"I do." She said without thinking.

"I miss my Kyoko-chan too." Ren teased. Kyoko heard a soft knock and the opening of the door of her dressing room.

"Mo! Kyoko the director said we'll be starting in five minutes. You better say bye to your Prince Charming!" Kanae said from the door frame. Kyoko blushed deep red. "Tsuruga-san have a safe trip." She said called out before closing the door again.

Kyoko was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to say next. Ren spoke first.

"I guess you have to go back now."

"Yeah, I guess my fifteen minute break is almost over. Have a safe trip Ren-san and get some rest."

"I will my princess." Ren couldn't help say.

"Ren-saaannn..."

"Thank Kotonami-san for me for what she said." Kyoko was thinking Ren was talking about the 'have a safe trip' but he was really talking about her calling him Kyoko's prince charming. "Nite Princess."

"Nite Ren-san. Say hello to Maria for me."

"I will. Sweet dreams." 'Love you' and a soft Kiss before disconnecting.

Ren stood up to go to back to the private waiting room where the President and everyone were waiting when he notice a little blonde girl staring at him with wide eyes and open mouth.

"Maria-chan" He groaned inwardly. He was sure that the little girl has seen the gestured he always make before hanging up.

"Ren-sama, are you in love with Kyoko nee-sama?" She said in an astonished tone.

What should he say? He decided to tell her the truth. "Hai, but keep it a secret to everyone for now, including Kyoko-chan ok?"

"Kyaaa!" She shouted.

"What's wrong Maria?" Ren asked alarmed.

"I don't know what to feel." The young girl said. "I'm heartbroken that you found someone else but I'm also happy that it's my nee-sama that you love. She deserves to be love by someone as exceptional as you. I guess my happiness overrides my sadness. So you better tell her soon before someone else takes her away!" Maria commanded before walking out of the room.

Ren let out a heavy sigh. If only it was that easy. With heavy steps he Followed Maria.

They boarded the plane a few minutes after Ren came back. As soon as Ren sat on the comfortable and spacious seat of Takatada's private jet and buckled himself in, his eyes closed and he slept. Maria, after finding her seatmate asleep, took a new blanket out and draped it on Ren. She watched her first crush sleep for a minute.

"I'm letting you go Ren-sama. Make my Onee-sama happy." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Hhmmm... Kyoko" Ren murmured.

Maria giggled and settled on her own seat. She closed her eyes.

Lory checked on his granddaughter and found her sleeping next to Ren. He went up to Yashiro to ask him a few questions.

"What happened that made our boy so tired?"

"I think its combination of things really. First I think he didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why is that?"

"I'm afraid that was my fault." Yashiro admitted sheepishly. "Last night the director called to inform me that he wanted to start the shoot an hour early to accommodate any 'mishaps' as he put it."

"Mishaps? Is he expecting something unfortunate to happen?" Lory asked confused.

Yashiro laughed. "Well every scene Ren has with the lead actress always ends up with the shoot being delayed." Yashiro looked at Lory to see if he understood what he's getting at.

"Did she swoon and melt?"

"Bingo! And the scene only calls for a kiss on the cheek."

"But what about last night? Why do you think he didn't get much sleep?"

"Well..." Yashiro said sounding guilty. "After I received the instruction from the director, I went straight to Ren's room to relay the message. I noticed that he was holding his phone, realising he was on the phone with Kyoko, I decided to tease him. So I told him that the director wants him an hour early in the set because the director is allowing extra time to shoot his kissing scene. Hoping to get Kyoko-chan jealous. But I think I went too far. Five minutes after he pushed me out of his room he came into mine with the darkest aura I've ever seen. I thought I was going to die last night. Maybe Kyoko-chan got upset with him or something .

"Then the shoot went overtime, even when the filming started smoothly this morning. The lead actress kept trying to flirt with Ren even during the actual takes. I also think that she was messing up on purposed during the kiss scene. She must have kissed Ren's cheek more than twenty times. The shoot was supposed to finish by four but they went three hours over time. I think he's not only tired but he's dejected as well, because he wanted to call Kyoko-chan earlier so they can have a longer conversation."

Yashiro and Lory sighed at the same time.

"That love sick boy should really just confess to Mogami-kun..."

"Grandpa you knew Ren-sama is in love with Onee-sama? That was supposed to be a secret!"

The two adult men turned to the supposedly sleeping girl. Yashiro was the one to speak first.

"How did you find out Maria-chan?"

"Uuummm...You see...I was walking back from the ladies when I saw Ren-sama in the other room. I decided to wait for him and I overheard him mentioned Kotoname-san's name so I was going to ask him if he was talking to Onee-sama. But when I got closer he was saying goodnight to her already. But before he ended the call he said 'I love you' really softly and in English too. I'm not even sure Onee-sama heard it. Then he kissed his phone." By now Yashiro's eyes are as big as a saucer, his mouth is hanging open and his hands on each side of his cheeks. One is proud to say that he made a good impression of the painting 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch.

"How do you know its Mogami-san he was talking to? Did you ask him?"

"No. But I asked if he is in love with Kyoko onee-sama? And he said he is but it's a secret." The two adult male looked at her in shock.

"He really admitted that he's in love with her?" Yashiro asked.

Maria nodded. "He did but he said it's a secret for now."

Lory snorted "What secret? 99.9% of LME knows he's in love with the girl."

"So Onee-sama knows he's in love with her?"

"No, she's the 0.1%"

"We better help them get together, ne grandpa?"

"We've been trying to do that for the last year and a half with no avail. But please Maria, don't tell Kyoko what you've seen. Let Ren confess properly to the girl. Give him that privilege."

Maria looked at her grandfather and nodded. She just have to think of a way of getting her two favourite people together without her telling her nee-sama what she saw but first she has to know how Kyoko feels about Ren.

"Good evening everybody. This is your captain speaking. We will be landing in Naha airport in a few minutes. Please fasten your seatbelt."

"Grandpa what are we doing in Okinawa?"

"We're bringing Ren to his next job.

Half an hour later they have landed at Naha airport. Maria's task is to wake Ren up. While the Lory's task is to get Yashiro back from whichever Fan girl land he is in. Maria succeeded while Lory was still struggling until he said:

"Yashiro-kun you will miss Ren's reaction when he finds out he's in Okinawa and he will be seeing Mogami-kun."

Yashiro's eyes flutter a couple of times and focus on the president.

"Welcome back Yashiro." Lory said with a smile.

Ren was a bit disoriented after Maria woke him up.

"Are we in Tokyo already?"

"No. Silly. We're in Okinawa for your next job." Maria said giggling.

"Okinawa?" Ren was shock. "What are we doing in Okinawa?"

The president started to explain the situation.

"Ren I'm sure by now you have heard about Murasame's situation."

"Hai, Kyoko told me that he was injured during filming."

"Yes and Kurosaki called me for help and I volunteered you as his replacement. Don't look at me like that. I had to call in favours just to get you here."

Ren was glaring at Lory. He couldn't believe that he kept this from him. He was happy that no one else is proposing to Kyoko but he has some reservation as well. When he proposes to Kyoko he wants it to be real not scripted and when she says yes he wants it from her heart and not from a script either.

Lory and Yashiro can see the shifting emotions on Ren's unguarded face.

"You can use this as a practise session. So when you're ready to propose to Kyoko-chan for real it will be perfect." Yashiro said.

Ren gave him a demon lord smile which made Yashiro cower behind the President.

"President Can I stay in your suite. I might get murdered tonight." Yashiro whispered.

"Oh come on Ren. Aren't you happy that you will be seeing Mogami-kun?"

Ren ignored the two adult men and exited the plane with Maria in hand.

* * *

><p>Conversation between the two employees who saw Ren.<p>

E1 – Did you see HIM?

E2 – Hai. He's so tall and gorgeous.

E1 – I heard he's the groom for the CM

E2 – Really? I thought there are rumours that Murasame Taira will be the groom. But I'll choose him over Murasame any time.

E1 – Me too. (sigh)

This was the conversation that greeted the girls as soon as they got out of the elevator heading towards the restaurant where the breakfast is served.

"Kyoko are you sure that Tsuruga-san is not doing the CM with us?"

"Yes. I asked him..." Kyoko never finished her sentence because that moment she saw her senpai sitting with his manager waving at them.

The girls walked towards their table.

"Good morning Kotoname-san, Amamiya-san and Kyoko-chan" Yashiro greeted the girls with a wide smile.

"Good morning" The three girls said at the same time.

"Good morning ladies." Ren said giving Kanae and Chiori a brief nod before looking at Kyoko again. He was staring at her like he was memorising her face. He missed her so much that he wanted to hug and kiss her but all he is allowed to do is stare at her beautiful face.

"You must be wondering what we're doing here." Yashiro said and the two girls nodded. "The president picked us up from Hokkaido and brought us here. He said he volunteered Ren to be Murasame's replacement." Yashiro explained leaving the fact that he is an accomplice all along.

"So Tsuruga-san you really didn't know you're going to be the groom?" Kanae asked causing the spell on Ren to break.

"No, I just found out when we got here last night. Maria's here too. Though she might still be asleep. She missed you Kyoko-chan."

"I missed her too." They started staring at each other again with goofy smiles on their faces.

"Mo! You two are giving me cavities. We have to be at the set ready to film in half an hour. So stop staring at each other and eat." Chiori and Yashiro tried to hide their smiles as the two star started to blush.

Half an hour later the three girls exited their dressing room. Chiori wearing a red with white polka-dot bikini top with a little heart clasp at the front and a red bikini bottom under a red and white polka-dot sarong. Kanae is wearing a sapphire blue two piece with plunging neckline and a bikini bottom with a little skirt attached to it. While Kyoko is wearing a mint green tankini and a green and white stripped board shorts.

The Director motioned for them to join him on the sand. They were there to film the first meeting of Akane and Ken, Akane's husband to be. Kurosaki was explaining to the girls about what he wanted from them in this scene, when a collective gasps were heard from the girls around them. They all looked up and found Ren and his manager walking towards them. Ren was wearing a wetsuit that shows off his well built body.

"No wonder your senpai is named the most desirable guy in Japan, with his face and a body like that, he sure lives up to his title." Chiori whispered in Kyoko's ear. "He's hot."

Kyoko was blushing hard. Not only because of what Chiori said but because she has this sudden urge to touch Ren. She has seen Ren half naked when they were living as the Heel siblings but she was always in Setsu mode every time it happened so she really didn't take notice. But know seeing him in a wetsuit that clings to him like a second skin she could feel another emotion that she hasn't felt before, lust.

'Control yourself Kyoko' she thought. 'Just don't think about how sexy he is. You're a professional actress you can do this. I can do this. I can do this, I can do this.' She chanted in her head.

"Hello Director Kurosaki." Ren said.

"Hello Tsuruga-san. Thank you for coming and helping us out."

"It's my pleasure." He smiled and some of the girls around them swooned and melted.

"Ok. So we'll shoot the surfing scene then we'll do the meeting scene. The president told me that you know how to surf Tsuruga-san and that you would want to do that stunt yourself."

"Hai, I have no problem with surfing." Growing up in California, one of Ren's favourite past time was surfing.

"Ok we'll start. Places people."

"Be careful out there Tsuruga-san." Kyoko said with a worried expression.

Ren gave her his heavenly smile. "Don't worry Mogami-san. I've done this before."

Ren grabbed the surfboard he will be using and waited for the director's orders.

"Ok Tsuruga-san. Well be filming as soon as your ready."

"I can see a good size wave coming" Ren informed Kurosaki.

"Ok. Action!"

Ren went into the water while the rest of the cast and crew watched and filmed. A few minutes later they saw Ren riding the wave with ease.

"Is there anything that Tsuruga Ren can't do?" Kanae said to no one in particular.

"Yes, confess to the girl he loves." Yashiro said under his breath.

"Did you say something Yashiro-san?" Kyoko asked.

"No, just talking to myself." Yashiro gave her a smile. But Kyoko didn't see it. She was too busy watching Ren.

Kanae who heard what he said moved closer to Yashiro and asked in a hushed voice "So he's really in love with her?"

Yashiro nodded.

"That's good! I ..." Kanae didn't get to finish her sentence because at that instant the director yelled out "Cut".

"That's a good take Tsuruga-san. We'll just run that through then we'll start with the next scene." Kurosaki went to the monitor to check the footage they just shot. While Ren walked towards the three girls and his manager.

"That was good Tsuruga-san"

"You're like a professional surfer Tsuruga-san"

"That was excellent Tsuruga-san"

Compliments could be heard from everyone and he thanked them. He was even stopped by three girls to get his autograph and some picture. One of them was really flirty. She kept touching Ren's arm and licking her lips. Ren gave them his signature gentleman smile.

That's when Yashiro decided to rescue his charge. Plus he needed to get away from Kyoko. Her dark aura is scaring him. He looked back at Kyoko and saw that she was sending murderous glares at the girl who was still hanging around Ren. 'If looks could kill, this girl would have been dead by now' Yashiro thought. 'Is that jealousy I detect? Maybe Ren's getting to her.' Yashiro's inner fan girl was starting to surface but he pushed it down. He has a job to do. 'I can't wait to tell the president that Kyoko-chan was jealous' was his last thought before squaring his shoulders.

"Tsuruga-san" He called out. "I think you need to talk to your co-stars before the next scene to co-ordinate with them."

"Ok. Thank you Yashiro-san." Ren said with hiden meaning. "Excuse me girls. I have to get back to work." Before Ren could move the flirty girl pulled him down and planted a kiss on his cheek. Ren was too stunned to move.

"That's it!" Kyoko marched to Ren and grabbed his arm and said sweetly "Excuse me Tsuruga-san I think we need to rehearse before the next scene" She smiled sweetly at her three girls. "Sorry girls I have to steal the star from you. Maybe after the shoot you can chat with him again." She led the gorgeous actor towards the two amused actresses.

'What have I done.' She thought. 'In a fit of jealousy I did something stupid. I might have ruined his career.'

Ren sensing Kyoko's distress looked down and gave her one of his heavenly smile.

Suddenly they over heard the three girls talking.

"Do you think they are together?" The flirty one asked.

"It looks like it. Did you see the smile he just gave her. I've never seen him smile like that." The girl with short hair said.

"Sorry Yoko-chan. Your very pretty but it's hard to compete with a beautiful girl like that. Especially someone who could change her look in an instant. Did you see her during the interview at the end of Dark Moon? She was stunning..."

The girls were now too far away to be heard.

"I'm so sorry Ren-san." A red Kyoko whispered. "They misunderstood. I acted on impulse. You look like you needed rescuing."

Ren couldn't help smiling. "It's ok Kyoko-chan. Thank you very much for rescuing me." He patted her hand that was still resting on his arm. They heard a giggle behind them. They both turned and found Yashiro in one of his fan girl mode giggling like a little girl.

"Ok everyone next scene please." Director Kurosaki said.

* * *

><p>It was during lunch break when Kyoko finally saw Maria. The little girl and her eccentric grandfather, who was wearing a black tuxedo over his crisp white shirt and a silver bow tie, were sitting in a restaurant having their lunch.<p>

"Kyoko onee-sama!" Maria shouted as soon she saw her.

"Maria, it's good to see you here!"

"I've missed you onee-sama." Maria gave her a hug.

"I've missed you too Maria-chan." She returned the little girl's hug. "But why is the President dressed so formally?" Kyoko asked the little girl.

"For your information Mogami-kun, I am one of your distinguish guest for your wedding with Ren." Lory said with a straight face but his eyes were full of amusement. Kyoko blushed.

"Onee-sama I'm going to be your flower girl for the next scene. I was asked by Director Kurosaki to play the part and Grandpa volunteered to be one of the guests. Even Yashiro oji-san is one of the extras."

"That's right everyone's invited to your wedding" The president announced. Before Kyoko could correct the president's statement, Director Kurosaki fallowed by Yamamoto Haruki and a pretty lady with long wavy hair stopped by the presidents table.

"Hello President Takarada and Maria-chan" He said, looking at the president he continued "I see that the president is already dress for the next scene."

"Of course I'm excited about this wedding." Lory said teasingly.

"A wedding? Oh who's getting married?" The lady with the wavy hair asked excitedly, looking around the table.

"Kyoko and Ren" Lory answered casually. By now Kyoko resembled a very ripe tomato. Ren decided to intervene.

"It's the next scene we will be filming. A wedding reception."

"Oh! Can I join the guest list?" She turned to the director. "Please, please onii-tan" She said in a childish voice. "Can I be one of the extras? I want to be in Kyoko-chan's wedding too. Pleeeaaaaseeee pretty pleeeaassse with sugar on top." She kept pleading.

"Nami...you promised to behave."

"I am behaved. See? You haven't even introduced me to her." She said with a pretty pout on her lips.

Kurosaki sighed while Haruki was trying to hide his laughter after seeing the shock expressions from everyone in the table. He was used to the way the two siblings talk. They would argue but in the end the younger Kurosaki always wins.

"Ok I'll introduce you. Everyone this is Kurosaki Nanami. My baby sister..."

"I'm not a baby...how rude!"

"Well you're acting like one. Anyway this is Yashiro Yukihito, Tsuruga-san's manager."

"Nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too"

"Amamiya Chiori, from Box R"

"Nice to meet you"

"Pleasure to meet you too"

"Kotonami Kanae, from the Kyurara CM."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you too"

"Tsuruga Ren, he really needs no introduction." Everyone chuckled.

"You give me too much credit director Kurosaki. But it's nice to meet you Kurosaki-san."

"It's nice to meet you too Tsuruga-san."

"This is President Takarada Lory of LME."

"It's a pleasure to meet you young lady." Lory said

"It's very nice to meet you too President Takarada."

"And this very cute little princess is Maria-chan, the president's granddaughter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Maria-chan."

"Nice to meet you Kurosaki-san"

"And of course Kyo..."

"Oh Kyoko-chan! I just love your work..."Nanami cut her brother off and pulled Kyoko into a bear hug. "I've been your fan eversince I saw you in Dark Moon when I got back from the States. I've watched every drama and movie you're in and I even watched Fuwa Sho's PV that you're in even if I don't like him."

"Nami, I think you better release Kyoko-chan. You're killing the poor girl."

"Oh! Gomen! I just got so excited."

"Nami your promise."

"Ok, ok I'll behave. But you have to let me be part of Kyoko-chan's wedding."

"Fine you're in." The director said. Nanami jumped up and down.

"Thank Ushi nii-san. You're the best brother in the world!" She gave her brother a big hug before claiming Kyoko's arm. "I'm so excited about being part of your wedding!"

This time Haruki couldn't hide his laughter any longer. He patted his friend's back and said "She always gets her way doesn't she?"

Everyone turned to the handsome guy who spoke.

"By the way everyone this is Yamamoto Haruki, the owner of the resort."

"Nice to meet you everyone. And I'm not the owner of the resort, my father is."

"You're all grown up Haruki-kun," Lory said "last time I saw you, you were only ten years old. I'm not sure if you remember me. Your father is one of my closest friend."

"Of course I remember you Takarada-san. We used to be neighbours. My father would love to see you but unfortunately he's on a business trip in Nagoya right now."

"Actually I met your father a couple of days ago. He came to see me in Tokyo and we had dinner. Speaking of food why don't you guys join us for lunch."

* * *

><p>It was midnight when Kyoko finally went to bed. She had a very busy day. After the reception shoot, which went very well without any problem, the president decided to give a real party. His own words were, "Since we're all dress up why don't we have a 'well-done-shoot-party.'" To which everyone agreed to.<p>

She danced mostly with Ren, Yashiro asked her to dance once. She also danced with the president, Kurosaki and even Haruki. The two love me girls who were supposed to be catching a flight back to Tokyo had to stay one more night due to exhaustion. Instead they will be leaving early in the morning using the president's private jet.

Kyoko was exhausted but she couldn't sleep. There were so many thoughts running through her mind. The emotions like jealousy and lust she felt today was confusing and scaring her. Without meaning to, she started comparing her emotions when she was with Sho and her feelings now for Ren:

Whenever Sho smiled at her before it always made her happy but when Ren gives her one of this heavenly smiles, which is often now, it makes her weak at the knees.

Whenever she was with Sho before she felt comfortable and content but when she's with Ren her heart always beats faster and she becomes nervous but she always crave to be with him.

Whenever Sho was away she missed him but not as much as she misses Ren. A day without hearing his voice is like torture to her.

She never got jealous when other girls hang around Sho but she wanted to kill the girl who was flirting with Ren.

She's seen Sho half naked a lot of times but she never ever felt that she wanted to touch him. But when she saw Ren in his wetsuit the urge to run her hands on his abs and chest was so strong that it took all her concentration to stop herself from doing it.

Finally the exhaustion got to her and she started to drift to sleep.

"Maybe I was never really in love with Shoutaro. But I'm definitely in love with Ren right now." She said before falling into slumber.

Kyoko woke up early to see her friends off. But she was so tired from all the thinking she did the night before that she went back to sleep as soon as the two love me girls left. She didn't wake up again until she heard her phone ringing. She gingerly opened her eyes to check the caller ID. She smiled and answered her phone.

"Good morning Ren-san."

Ren chuckled. "Good morning to you too. Are you alright Kyoko-chan?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because it's eleven o'clock and you're still in bed. You're not sick are you?"

"No, just tired." She said yawning.

"Maybe you should go back to sleep then since you don't have any filming until later this afternoon." Suddenly they heard a gurgling sound.

"I think my stomach's telling me to get up now." She said

"Maria-chan, Yashiro and I will wait for you in the lounge area then."

"Ok I'll see you there in fifteen minutes."

* * *

><p>As they say 'Time flies when you're having fun' especially when you're spending it with the one you love. Ren and Kyoko, along with Maria and Yashiro spent their free time doing fun stuff. On the Sunday that Ren woke Kyoko up, they had lunch as soon as Kyoko came down. Then they went cycling along the same trail the Love me girls took when they filmed the biking scene.<p>

Early Monday morning the group, including Lory and Sebastian, went snorkelling. They built sand castles and had a volleyball competition. After lunch they filmed the convention scenes.

Kyoko was pacing back and forth in her dressing room. She was so nervous that she had so many butterflies in her stomach. It was bad enough that the night before she kept slipping out of character, when all they had to do was walk down the beach and sit on the sand with her head resting on Ren's shoulder while they watch the sunset. Lucky for her no one noticed. But this last scene that they have to film, Ken is going to propose to Akane. She's not confident that she will be able to hide her feelings or that she will be able to stay in character once the proposal starts. She wiped her clammy hands on the skirt of her wrap around dress and started chanting in her head.

'You're Akane and it's not Ren who's proposing but Akane's boyfriend Ken. You're a successful, elegant woman.' She repeated these lines a couple of times. By the time the assistant director came to get her she was in character already.

Ren saw Kyoko approaching, he could tell that she's already in character. He adjusted his stance and walked towards the girl he's about to propose to. He held out his hand to her and she took it.

"Thank you Ken."

"My pleasure sweet heart. Shall we?"

She nodded and they walked hand in hand towards the waiting director.

"Good you're both here." Kurosaki said smiling. "There are some changes in the scene. Because Tsuruga-san didn't do the reading with us I've decided to give you both free reins. Tsuruga-san you can propose to Akane as you see best fit. And Kyoko-chan you can accept Ken's proposal the way you want to. Is that Ok with you both?" Both Ren and Kyoko nodded.

"Good. The scenario will be, Akane and Ken are having dinner and the musician will approach their table when they leave Ken will propose and Akane will accept. Do you need to discuss how you want to do the proposal?"

Both actors shook their head no.

"Ok we'll start. Places people!" the director shouted. Ren and Kyoko walked towards their table.

Lory and Maria sat in one of the free tables to watch. Yashiro put on his gloves and took out his camcorder ready to capture the scene. He was shaking with excitement.

"Quite everyone. Ready and Action!"

Proposal scene.

Ken was sitting across from Akane looking a bit nervous.

"Are you Ok Ken? You look a bit anxious." Akane asked with concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine sweetheart." The musician approached their table and played a love song for a minute before moving to the front.

Ken reached into his pocket and got out of his seat. He knelt down on one knee in front of Akane and took her left hand in his:

"Ikezawa Akane, the very first time I saw you, you took my breath away. On our first date you made me fall in love with you." Kyoko saw something in Ken eyes changed. She realise that the man kneeling in front of her is not Ken anymore but Ren. His next line took her breath away.

"Every moment I spend with you made me realise that I cannot and would not want to live my life without you. Would you spend the rest of your life with me?"

Ren's words made Kyoko slipped out of her character. With tears in her eyes she nodded and said yes. Not to Ken's proposal but Ren's. Ren placed the ring on Kyoko's finger and pulled her into a tight embrace. He lowered his lips near her ear and whispered; "I Love you Kyoko" in English.

Kyoko was shock to say the least. Ren pulled away just enough to look into her eyes before claiming her lips into a sweet passionate kiss. She hesitated for a second before responding to the kiss. When the kiss finally ended, Ren leaned over again and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you" he said softly.

Everyone in the room stared at the two actors in awe. Everyone who doesn't know Ren and Kyoko's close relationship were amazed with their chemistry. Some even commented that the proposal felt too real that only first class actors and actresses like those two can pull it off. When the director shouted 'Cut' Ren reluctantly let Kyoko go. But before he did, he told her that they needed to talk.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Sorry guys the chapter is a bit rushed. We're moving houses and I won't have internet access soon, so I wanted to get this chapter out before that happens.

Next chapter is about Kyoko's true identity. So stay tuned, but I might not be able to post it until later on.

Just to make the time line clear.

Friday night - Ren arrived at Okinawa.

Saturday morning - Filming at the beach

Saturday afternoon - Filming wedding reception.

Sunday morning - the 2 love me girls left. Kyoko, Ren, Maria and Yashiro went cycling after lunch

Sunday late afternoon - Filming at the beach, Ren and Kyoko watching the sunset.

Monday morning - snorkelling, playing volleyball.

Monday after lunch - filming convention scene.

Monday night - Proposal scene.

Tuesday morning - Ren and Party to leave. (Next chapter.)

Thank you for all the reviews. Please continue in letting me know what you think.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

**Chapter 10**

After the proposal scene a lot of people came up to them to congratulate them for a job well done. Kyoko put up a calm and collected persona but inside she was in turmoil. She wasn't even sure that the confession really happened. If it weren't for people telling her that the whole proposal was so heart warming and the kiss seems so real, she would have thought that it was all a dream. She could see from the corner of her eye that Ren kept giving her quick glances.

"That was beautiful, better than I thought!" Kurosaki beamed after watching the playback of what they just filmed. "One take, even without rehearsal. That's a wrap guys. Thank you for a job well done." Kurosaki shook both the actors' hand and walked towards President Tarakada to express his gratitude.

It was another half an hour before Ren and Kyoko were alone. They were sitting in the lounge area on the penthouse floor overseeing the now dark ocean. The whole floor was deserted. After the wedding reception scene the Watanabe's who were occupying one of the penthouses left. Kijima felt the day after. Now it's only Kyoko and Ren with Yashiro who occupy the whole floor. The president and Maria are staying at Haruto's private villa located near the garden of the resort.

Ren took Kyoko's hand.

"Kyoko, the words I said during filming are all true. Ai shiteru." (**A/N**: Ai shiteru-I love you in Japanese- according to my cousin who's married to a Japanese guy these phase is only use when the person saying it is really serious about the other person.). He lifted Kyoko's hand and placed it on his heart. "You've always been the only girl in here."

Kyoko could see the sincerity in Ren's eyes and it made her giddy with happiness. Never, even in her wildest dream would she believe that her senpai would like her more than a Kohai. And now he's telling her that she's the only girl in his heart.

"But before you give me your answer I want you to learn everything about me. About my true identity and my past. I'm not who you think I am. And my past is something I'm not proud of. But you have to know about them." Ren looked down. "I'm not worthy of you Kyoko" He said softly "But I want to try to be the man you'll be proud of. I want to be honest. No more secrets!"

Kyoko reached out and touched Ren's cheek with her free hand. He looked up and her heart ached when she saw the pain in his eyes. She wanted to take away all his pain but she didn't know how. She doesn't even understand why he's saying all these things.

"Ren, I..."

Ren touched her lips with his index finger.

"Kyoko, please listen first before you say something." Kyoko nodded. Ren looked into her eyes and she smiled. "To tell you the truth I don't know where to start."

Kyoko shifted her hand that Ren was holding to his heart so she can hold Ren's hand and squeeze it.

"I wasn't planning on confessing to you this way but I didn't want to my proposal to be scripted. I wanted to tell you about my past before telling you how I feel. I was just waiting for the right time, waiting for you to be ready to love again."

"I'm ready now" she said softly. Ren smiled.

"Kyoko, I was born in America. My mother is an American Model." Ren pause to let that sink in.

Kyoko looked at Ren in shock. She would never have guessed that he's not full Japanese. Then something occurs to her:

"When you taught me my Natsu walk you told me that you were teaching me the techniques of a model who said to be the most beautiful in the world, where you talking about your mother?"

Ren nodded and smiled.

"Wow!" Kyoko said and Ren squeezed her hand this time.

"Yes my mother is well known on the catwalk. My father is a Japanese-American actor. He's very well known here and in America..." He waited for Kyoko to make the connection but she was still trying to grasp the idea of Ren being American that she didn't think about the possibility that Kuu is Ren's dad.

"My Father's name is..."

Ding. The elevator chimed before the door opened. Ren and Kyoko let go of each other when they overheard two employees talking.

E1: You should have been there. The kiss was so real. If I didn't know it was all an act I would have thought they were really in love with each other.

E2: Were they really that good?

E1: Yes. The best.

The two employees looked up to find the topic of their gossip sitting at the lounge area, both smiling at them.

"Sorry Tsuruga-san, Mogami-san. If we're interrupting we could come back later if you want some privacy." The girl who had watched the shoot said.

Ren answered for them "No it's fine. We were just relaxing and having a friendly talk. Don't let us keep you from doing your jobs." He gave them one of his gentleman smiles which made the two girls lightheaded. They bowed and walked towards one of the penthouse they were about to clean.

When they were alone again Ren said "I guess this is not the best place to discuss this. We should talk about this in private."

Kyoko nodded and added. "But if I invite you to my room now or I go to yours it might create rumours."

Ren took her hand again. "I guess I have to wait to tell you. Will you have dinner with me on Wednesday Kyoko? We can have an early dinner then we can go to my apartment so I can tell you everything there."

"I'll cook dinner at your apartment instead."

"Ok it's a date." Kyoko blushed and nodded. "I think I better walk you to your room now."

When they got to Kyoko's door, Ren leaned closer to Kyoko and whispered "May I?"

She nodded. But to her disappointment Ren only gave her a kiss on the cheek before whispering "Goodnight my princess. Sweet dreams. I love you."

"Goodnight Ren"

Kyoko entered her room and Ren called Yashiro and asked him to come up. He went to sit in the lounge again waiting. When the two girls came out they found Ren and his manager sitting in the lounge talking. They bid them goodnight before leaving the penthouse floor.

Ren got up to go to his room.

"What was that all about?" Yashiro asked as they were walking

"They saw me with Kyoko when they got off the elevator and I didn't want any rumours." Was all he said.

* * *

><p>Ren left early Tuesday morning along with his manager, Lory and Maria. Kyoko wanted to go with them but stayed at Yamamoto Haruki's request. She's now walking around the resort thinking about Ren, his confession and the impromptu kiss during the shoot. She blushed at the thought. She lifted her right hand and touched her lips. She was so absorbed with her thoughts that she didn't notice the girl with long wary hair approach her until that said girl linked her arms onto hers. Kyoko looked up surprised at the sudden closeness of the girl.<p>

"Hello Kurosaki-san." She said.

"Hello Kyoko-chan. It's Nanami-chan or Nami-chan. Kurosaki-san is my brother. You look distracted and lonely you must be missing your friends. I'll keep you company today so you won't get lonely." The bubbly girl said without letting Kyoko speak. "Let's go shopping!"

For the next two and a half hours Kyoko was dragged and pulled into every store and boutique around the resort. Clothes were shoved into her arms and she was pushed into dressing rooms to try them on. Shoes, accessories, makeup and perfumes were also tried by the two girls. Kyoko was so busy keeping up with Nanami that she didn't have time to think about her senpai until his name was mentioned by her companion.

It was when she came out of the dressing wearing the red floral summer dress Nanami insisted she try on. She must admit the dress suits her perfectly. The white thin belt made her waist look tiny and the above-the-knee length makes her legs look longer. The scoop neckline accentuates her elegant long neck. The overall effect is demure and girly but sexy.

"Oh my, Kyoko-chan! That suits you well. You look gorgeous! Not that you didn't look gorgeous with the other clothes you tried on but this one...WOW! Tsuruga-san will fall in love with you more when he sees you wearing that dress."

Kyoko blushed.

"Um... Nanami-chan w-why did you say that?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you think that Tsuruga-san was i...um in... in love with me?"

"Well I thought he was your boyfriend Kyoko-chan. I can tell he was in love with you by the way he looks at you. Was I wrong?"

"Well he's not really my boyfriend."

Nanami studied Kyoko's blushing face then she smiled.

"Not yet, but he's in love with you. I'm sure he will be your boyfriend soon."

"I..."

Ring ring ring.

Nanami checked her caller id. "Matte Kyoko-chan, its Ruki." Kyoko nodded and waited for Nanami to finish her call. It was just a short phone call.

"Kyoko-chan Haruki wanted to have lunch with us, I hope you don't mind. He's at the Italian restaurant."

"I don't mind. Let me just get change."

"No just wear that."

"But..."

"You look good in it. Just leave that on. Everything's paid for anyway."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know but I want to do it. Please Kyoko-chan, accept it as a gift from me. Please. You're like the sister I've always wanted but never have. Every time I buy clothes for my brother he never wears it instead he kept wearing those ugly clothes." Nanami wrinkled her nose and pouted to emphasis her point.

Kyoko giggled at her new friends antics. "Thank you" she said.

"No, thank you for letting me dress you. Now let's go before my fiancé finds another girl to marry." She once again linked her arms to Kyoko's and pulled her towards the counter.

Nanami instructed the sales girl to send everything in Kyoko's room. What Kyoko doesn't know is that "everything" meant all the clothes and shoes Kyoko tried on that Nanami liked.

Kyoko, Nanami and Haruki were sitting in the same Italian restaurant that the three Love Me girls ate in during their first day in the resort for almost two hours now, talking and laughing. Kyoko was surprised that she actually felt comfortable around these two people.

"So Kyoko-chan do you have any brothers or sisters to complain about?" Nanami asked after telling them about her latest effort to change her brother's fashion sense.

"No, I'm an only child." Kyoko said sadly.

"You're like Haruki then"

"I wasn't always an only child. I had a sister." Kyoko heard sadness in his tone as he corrected his fiancé. She looked at Haruki but she couldn't see his eyes through his sunglasses.

Nanami felt sorry that she opened this topic. She forgot about Haruki's dead sister. She patted his hand and mouthed the word sorry.

Haruki smiled. And Nanami changed the subject.

"So what do you want to do now?"

"I'm not sure. You girls decide and I'll just tag along if you don't mind. Ushio is having a meeting with his editing crew so I'm free for the rest of the day."

"Kyoko have you been here to Okinawa before?"

"No, this is the first time I've been here."

"Then we should go sightseeing."

"That's a good Idea Nana. Let's bring Kyoko-chan to Shuri Castle."

"Would you like to go there Kyoko-chan?"

"Yes please."

"Ok then Ruki. I just have to get my purse in your office."

"I'll meet you girls there. I'll just have to stop by the Villa."

Nanami lead Kyoko into a big office. While Nanami headed towards the desk Kyoko walked towards a portrait that hangs on the wall. She couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Kyoko-chan would you like to..." Nanami stopped. She looked at the portrait then at Kyoko then back at the portrait again. She gasped.

There on the wall was a large picture of a girl who looks like Kyoko but a bit older. Nanami didn't notice the portrait when she entered the room this morning. But then again she was only there for a few minutes before she went to find Kyoko.

"Kyoko-chan, by any chance, are you related to the Fugiwara? Your resemblance to Haruki's mother is so uncanny "

Kyoko turned to look at Nanami. Nanami's eyes widen some more. Now that she could see both faces at the same time, she had goose bumps. The resemblance between the two girls was so eerie. Apart from the hair colour and length, the fuller lips of the girl in the portrait, the slight difference in the jaw line and the age, Kyoko could pass as Yamamoto Akemi. Their nose, cheekbones and eyes are the same.

"I don't know." Kyoko answered quietly. "I don't really know any of my relatives. I only know my mother who I haven't seen in ten or so years."

"Your eyes are exactly the same as Haruki's. Why didn't I notice that before?" She said more to herself than to Kyoko.

Haruki entered the room at that time. He looked at the two girls then at his mother's portrait. He sighed. His father instructed him not to say anything yet to Kyoko because President Lory was supposed to talk to her first when she gets back to Tokyo. But he now he has to explain. He closed the door behind him.

It was Kyoko who spoke first.

"Haruki-san?" was all she said in a questioning tone.

"I guess I have to explain. You both better sit down." The two girls obliged.

"Kyoko-chan remember I mentioned that I had a sister before?" Kyoko nodded. "Well she disappeared when she was two years old. I guess I better start from the beginning.

"My parents got married early. My mother was nineteen and my father was twenty-three. They had me a year later. When my mother was six months pregnant with me they discovered that she had a weak uterus so she was bedridden for the whole duration of her third trimester. And when I was born the doctor told them that she could never have another child because her uterus had been damaged. They were both thankful that they at least had me.

"I was fine being an only child until I met Ushio. I started to wonder how it would be like to have a sister of my own. I asked my parents if I could have a sister but they explained to me that it's impossible to have one. Because of my mom's condition.

"When I was seven my mother got very sick and they didn't what was wrong with her. They did every test they could do but they couldn't see the problem until one of the nurses suggested a pregnancy test which turnout to be positive. We were so happy. It was a very hard pregnancy for my mother, my father and I tried our best to help make her comfortable.

"At last my sister was born five weeks early but she was healthy. We called her our miracle baby. My parents gave me the privilege of naming her. I named her Akiko which means bright child because she brightens our life. Everyone loved Akiko, she was a happy baby." Haruki smiled at memory.

"I was always excited to come home from school so I can play with her. Mom lets me help take care of her, most of the time my job is to feed her and at night I read her books. Her favourites were fairytales. Our family was perfect at that time. Until my mother's accident." Haruki took his sunglasses off to wipe his teary eyes and looked up at Kyoko.

A shiver run down Kyoko's spine. She's now looking at Haruki's golden eyes, which was exactly the same as hers. "What happened to her? What accident?" Kyoko asked softly.

"It was a week after Akiko's birthday. New Year's eve, my parents always go to this charity ball for orphan children. That year my father couldn't go with my mother because he had a very important meeting with these important investors. So my mother went by herself. On the way home, the driver of her car fell asleep on the wheels and the car veered towards the oncoming traffic and hit another car. The driver and my mother died instantly while the driver of the other car survived." Nanami moved to her fiancé to console him.

"My father was devastated with grief and couldn't function for a few months. I helped take care of Akiko. When I'm at school her nanny takes care of her but when I get home she usually follow me around like a little shadow. When I get home from school I used to find her waiting for me at the foyer of our house. We would eat dinner together, brush our teeth together and I'm the one who puts her to bed." Haruki smiled a little before his mood darkened.

"I wasn't there when it happened. I was at school. Akiko was two years old. Her nanny received a phone call from her mother asking her to go to the hospital because her father had a heart attack. She called my dad to let him know the situation. My father was in a meeting at that time and his Personal Assistant told him she'll take care of the situation. She'll look after my sister until I get home. You see my father couldn't leave the meeting because there was a discrepancy in the financial books of the company. There was five million US dollars missing from the company. Plus Akiyama Rika, my father's PA has been a family friend for more than ten years so he entrusted Akiko to her but little did we know.

"When I got home that afternoon Akiko and Rika-san weren't home. Our butler told me that Rika-san took Akiko to my father's office because her nanny had an emergency. I went to my dad's office to pick up Akiko but she wasn't there either. At that time we were worried already. When we got home we found a note from Rika-san saying that she's got Akiko and if we try to find her she'll kill Akiko. It was Rika-san who embezzled the money and she took Akiko as her safety net in case she gets caught. My father called all his contact from the police to military and private investigators to find Akiko but they couldn't find them.

"Days turns to weeks then months then finally after two years they had a lead. A mother and her four year old daughter were travelling to Osaka by train. The police were going to intercept them at Osaka station. But there was another accident. Before the train arrived at Osaka it was derailed. Some of the carriage burst into flames. Fourteen died and a lot of people got hurt. Unfortunately the mother and daughter that they were investigating were among the fourteen. But there were evidence that Akiko was on that train."

"I remember going on a train ride when I was four but we got off before we got to Osaka."

"Kyoko-san can you tell me what you remember about that train ride?" Haruki asked urgently.


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

Chapter 11

"It was before my fifth birthday, my mother told me that we were moving again. We used to move a lot so I was used to it already. The lady who took care of me when my mother goes to work gave me an early birthday present. It was a pink metal lunchbox." Kyoko paused trying to think about the event that followed.

"On the train station I met a girl same age as me. She and her mother were also travelling on the same train. We even had the same metal lunchbox. I remember her mother and my mother talking. Then on the train my mother sat me next to the little girl. I fell asleep and next thing I knew my mother woke me up and told me we're getting off already. She grabbed one of the pink lunchbox but it wasn't mine. I remember crying because I put my favourite bear in that lunchbox. I remember that the most because I cried so much that my mother bought me another bear. It wasn't as beautiful as my Ko bear but that was the only time I could remember my mother buying me a toy so I was really happy."

"Ko bear?" Haruki asked.

"Hai. That was what I used to call my bear."

"Kyoko-chan can you describe your Ko bear?"

"It's a golden honey coloured bear, almost same colour as my eyes, with a lopsided pink polka-dot bow. On its right paw, I think it's on the right, a letter A was embroidered on it. When I was younger, I didn't know what that character was on that bear. I learned hiragana but I couldn't find that symbol then I learned Katakana and kanji but I still couldn't find the symbol on my bear. It wasn't until I learned English that I recognise the letter."

Haruki got up suddenly and went to the oak table. He leaned down and the girls could hear him pressing on some sort of keypad. He got up and went back to his place on the couch. He put a battered looking metal box on the table and opened it.

"Is this the bear you're talking about Kyoko-chan?" He said holding up a honey coloured bear with polka-dot bow.

Kyoko's eyes grew wider. "H-how...Where did you get that Haruki-san?"

"It was on the train. Near a little girl."

"Are you saying the little girl that I met on the train passed on already?" Kyoko asked sadly.

"That little girl was Akiko right?" Nanami said.

"So she and her mother were the one you were talking about? The one they were waiting for at Osaka?" Kyoko asked.

"We thought she was Akiko. We couldn't see her face properly because of her intensive burns but all the evidence point to her. So we didn't bother with a DNA test."

"What evidence?" Nanami, who didn't know the full story asked.

Haruki didn't answer her for the meantime instead he asked Kyoko a question.

"Is this really your bear Kyoko-san?" Kyoko looked at the bear again and a sudden thought occurred to her.

"Can I see that bear closely please Haruki-san?"

Haruki handed her the bear. She turned it upside down, looking for something.

"Ahh!" she exclaimed before undoing the stitches from the bottom of the bear.

Haruki and Nanami watched her put her finger inside the little hole. She moved her finger around then pulled a silver chain out of the bear. She looked at the name necklace again and found the name Akiko written in Kanji. Behind the name pendant was a dedication. It read 'To our beloved daughter's 1st B-day. 12-25-xx"

Kyoko looked at Haruki. She understood now what Haruki was saying about the evidence. Haruki on the other hand was astonished to see Akiko's necklace.

"Akiko was wearing that necklace when she disappeared. We thought Rika-san would have thrown that away or pawned it. How did it get there?"

"The night before we left Nagoya, my mother was packing and I saw her put this in the rubbish bin. I rescued it from being thrown out and kept it in my bear. I learned how to sew from the lady who took care of me."

Haruki's eyes were filled with tears now.

"I knew it!" He said suddenly. "You really are Akiko. I knew it the moment I saw you."

"Ruki! How is that possible?"

"The bear was the evidence I was talking about Nana. That bear is one-of-a-kind. My mother made it for her unborn child and the bow was my contribution. The letter A was stitched by my mother when I gave Akiko her name. The necklace was a gift from my parents. Akiko always wore that necklace ever since my parents gave it to her."

Haruki got up and hugged the shock Kyoko.

"I'm so glad you're alive Akiko, I've missed you so much." Haruki couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He sobbed.

Kyoko didn't know what to think anymore. She was so overwhelmed by all the information she just learned. Was it really possible that she's part of the Yamamoto family? The evidence was there but could it really be true? She looked like the lady in the picture, true and her eyes are exactly the same as Haruki. She owns the bear that Haruki's mother made and her mother, Saena, had Akiko's necklace. It's hard to believe that she could be Akiko though, even with evidence presented. She had been living alone for a long time now without any family and now learning that she might be a sister to someone was just unbelievable. She needed to think alone. Process the information slowly.

"Haruki-san I..." She didn't know what to say to the overly emotional guy hugging her. It was Nanami who understood what she wanted and intervened.

"Ruki I think Kyoko-chan needs some time to think about this." Nanami said to her fiancé. Haruki let Kyoko go.

"I'm sorry Akiko, I know this is all too much for you. Learning about your true identity..." Nanami touched Haruki's arm and slightly shook her head from side to side.

"Ruki, maybe Kyoko-chan would like to go back to her room to think about the things you've told her alone." Kyoko smiled gratefully at Nanami.

"I'm sorry Haruki-san I think I need to be alone." She finally said. "I do need time to think about this. This is just so..." Kyoko couldn't find the right word to describe how she felt at that moment. "...just so overwhelming."

Haruki nodded. "Ok" he said.

Kyoko bowed and left the room without another word. Before Kyoko could fully close the office door she overheard Haruki say;

"Nana you think she'll be ok?"

"She'll be fine. She just has a lot to think about. You have to understand that this information is life changing. Imagine someone telling you that the woman you called mother all your life is not your real mother, how would you feel?"

"I know, I was just so excited to finally confirm that she's Akiko that I didn't really think about my actions."

* * *

><p>Kyoko was now on the plane heading back to Tokyo. She didn't get a wink of sleep last night thinking about her new found information. Her life was changing so fast that she couldn't keep up. First Ren's confession now this, learning that she might be Yamamoto Akiko, a girl with a father and brother who truly loves her. It's very hard for her to believe that she's that girl even if all evidence proved it. There must be another explanation. All night long she's been thinking about other ways to explain why she had that bear and why her mother had the necklace but she couldn't think of any.<p>

Then there was Ren. When he called last night, she couldn't believe how fast he noticed that there was something bothering her. Though she tried so hard to mask her worries from her voice because she knew he'll get worried about her. She kept their conversation short.

Kyoko looked down at the note Haruki gave her before she boarded the plane. Her supposedly bother and his fiancé brought her to the airport. It was a bit awkward in the car but Nanami's babbling made it a bit tolerable. The siblings didn't know what to say to each other.

Kyoko reread the note again.

Akiko/Kyoko,

I'm so sorry. I know that you're feeling very confused right now, but please consider what I have told you. If you were not as convinced as I am by all the evidence, the bear and necklace, maybe we could get a DNA test if you're willing.

I'll wait for your decision. And if you need anything please contact me at 0XXX XXX XX4

Take care,

Haruki Onii-san

She smiled at the way Haruki signed it as Haruki Onii-san. She thought about the younger Yamamoto and how comfortable she was talking and joking with him during their lunch the day before. How much he loved his sister and how happy he was when he found out Kyoko owned that bear. She decided that Haruki would be a perfect brother.

"Good morning everyone, this is your captain speaking. We will be landing in Haneda airport shortly please fasten your seatbelt. It's now 8:45 am."

* * *

><p>Ren checked the time on his phone again, it says 9:22. He's been waiting at Haneda airport ever since 9:00 this morning. He checked the time again, 9:23. After talking to Kyoko last night he decided to pick her up from the airport himself. He was worried that something's wrong. She didn't sound herself last night. He wanted to go back to Yakiko resort but the president stopped him when he asked if he could use his private plane. Lory told him that Kyoko was just probably tired because she went shopping with Kurosaki Nanami. When Ren asked how the president knew this, Lory said that he just spoke to Yamamoto Haruki. But that information didn't stop Ren from getting anxious. Kyoko actually told him the same excuse.<p>

* * *

><p>As soon as Kyoko got out of the terminal the first thing she notice was a tall guy wearing all black and a murderous look on his face pacing back and forth.<p>

'What is Cain Heel doing here?' was her first thought before Setsuka Heel came out.

"Onii-chan!" Setsu called out before hurling herself to her brother.

"Setsu!" Cain turned his sister around inspecting her.

"What's wrong Onii-chan?" She said puzzled at her brother's actions.

"Are you Ok? You're not hurt are you?" Ren asked concern was evident on his face. Abandoning his Cain act.

"I'm fine. Why would I be hurt?" Kyoko answered

"You sounded strange last night I thought you were hurt."

"Is that why you're here now?" Ren nodded and Kyoko's heart fluttered.

'He was so concerned he even came today just to make sure I'm ok.' She thought. "I'm so sorry Ren, I made you worry." She apologised.

"It's ok as long as you're alright." He gave her one of his heavenly smile. Kyoko heard a couple of sighs from girls around them and Ren noticed that people are beginning to stare at them. He grabbed Kyoko's duffel bag with his left hand and took her left hand with his right.

"Come on Setsu we better go." Cain said putting his murderous expression back on.

"Coming Nii-chan" Setsu said.

Cain led his sister to a black Mercedes Benz.

Once they were both seated Ren drove them to quiet coffee shop.

"Sorry about that Kyoko. I needed to get you out of the airport before people started to recognise you."

"That's ok I understand that but why are we here." Kyoko asked pointing to the cafe in front of them.

"I thought maybe you might want to talk about what's bothering you over coffee."

"Have you had your breakfast yet Ren-san?"

Ren smiled sheepishly. "I had my coffee." He said.

Kyoko started her lecture about the importance of breakfast.

"That's why I brought you here Kyoko, to have brunch with me." He interrupted her tirade.

Ren took his wig off and his trench coat. He put a real looking moustache, a baseball cap and sunglasses.

"What are you doing?" Kyoko asked.

"Putting my disguise on. Miss Woods gave them to me this morning. And here put this on too" Ren handed her a shoulder length bob black wig with fringe/bangs, Cleopatra style. "Miss Woods told me to give them to you."

Kyoko put the black wig and her sunglasses on before they left the car.

"Where's your car?" She asked as the walk towards the cafe.

"At LME. The president lent me the Benz so I won't be recognised. It was his idea too to dress up as Cain Heel. That way it's easier for you to notice me while hiding my identity."

"But aren't you supposed to be at work right now?" Ren opened the cafe door. He asked the Maitre d' to give them a table outside under one of the big cafe umbrella. When they were seated and settled he answered her last question.

"I was supposed to be filming my new movie with Director Ogata right now but he's not back yet. So I'm free until three this afternoon."

"Then you should be resting and relaxing. Not driving me around."

"I'm relaxing right now with the girl I love." Kyoko blushed bright red with Ren's remark. They really haven't talk about their relationship yet but after Ren's confession he never fails to remind her that he's in love with her. Every phone call he would end it with 'Take care my princess, Ai shiteru' or 'Sweet dreams my princess, I love you'. That's another thing she was getting use to him calling her 'My princess' though she doesn't really know how to act whenever he tells her he loves her.

"So what was it that's bothering you last night?" Ren decided to change the topic. He knows he shouldn't push his luck and that he should tell her soon about his true identity but that can wait until tonight.

Kyoko contemplates whether she should tell Ren about what happened the day before. She looked at his face and she could see a genuine concern written all over his face. She started telling him the events that happened including the letter Haruki gave her.

"...so I don't know whether I should get the DNA test. I'm so confused. All night long I tried to think about a possible explanation why my mother and I had the bear and the necklace." She ended her story.

"After hearing the story I think its best that you do get that DNA test." Ren said soothingly.

"But I'm afraid Ren."

"It's understandable that you would feel that way but what exactly are you afraid of?" Ren asked trying to understand her fears

"What if I'm really Yamamoto Akiko...?" Kyoko pause trying to compose herself. "What if I disappoint them or after...after they get to know me they decide that they didn't want me and throw me away. What if..." Ren took her hand in his and squeeze it gently.

"Kyoko no one in their right mind would ever throw you away and as for you disappointing them that would never happen. You're the most generous, beautiful, talented, loving girl I've ever met. You're just perfect and who would be disappointed with perfection? Only fools would reject you." Ren said rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

Kyoko smiled slightly at Ren's description of her. Then she remembered something. She looked down to hide her pain.

"I was a disappointment to my mother and someone did throw me away" she said with a soft, shaky voice.

Ren wanted to kill both her mother and Sho for giving her this pain. He contained his anger to soothe the girl he loves. He reached out and lifted her chin.

"Kyoko listen," he said patiently "you have nothing to lose if you get that DNA test. If the DNA proves that you are Yamamoto Akiko, you would gain a brother and a father who, from the things you've told me, will love you for who you are. Then it will explain why the woman you called mother abandoned you..."

"But if I'm not Akiko then it will prove that my mother really didn't love me."

Ren wiped the tear that escaped from her eyes with his thumb. "If you're not Akiko, you still have a family in LME." He continued "You have your friends like Kotoname-san and Amamiya-san. You have Maria-chan as a younger sister. The president can be your grandfather. Sawara-san, Yashiro, the Daruma-ya couple, even Hizuri Kuu, they all love you. You also have me and I love you. You're not alone anymore, we are all here for you. As for the person who threw you away, as I said before only a fool would reject you, therefore he is a fool. It's his loss. So cheer up ok? If you want we can talk to the present together. I'll go with you to ask him for help to make sure that the DNA test will be discreet and no media will find out."

Kyoko thought about what Ren said and decided to take his advice. He was right after all, she had nothing to lose. She smiled at Ren and nodded her head.

"I have nothing to lose." She said. "Let's talk to the president he should know the best way to do this."

Ren squeezed her hand again before he let it go and dialled the President's private number.

Lory put his phone down and turned to his guest.

"They're on the way here now." He informed Yamamoto Haruto.

Haruto called him the night before after Haruki told him what happened with Kyoko. His friend explained the incident and asking him for help. They scheduled a meeting today to talk about their options on how to fix the situation.

What Lory wasn't expecting is the phone call from Ren. His number one actor called late last night wanting to know if he called borrow his jet to go to Okinawa to see Kyoko. He was worried that something happened to her because she sounded like something's bothering her when he spoke to her. He convinced the young actor that she was fine. When that didn't work he told Ren that his Jet left earlier for Okinawa so they can leave early the next day to go back to Tokyo and suggested that he could pick her up from the airport. He instructed Ren to come in early the morning and see Jelly to disguise himself so they can have a nice 'date'.

"They're coming now? What do we do?" Haruto asked anxiously.

Lory regarded his childhood friend. "Will you relax, there's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? What if she doesn't like me? What if she doesn't accept me? How can I relax?"

"Will you snap out of it...Mogami-kun is not like that. She's probably more scared that she's not good enough to be your daughter. She has this complex you see, because of the rejection she received earlier in her life."

Haruto felt bad for the young lady he's about to meet.

Buzz

"Yes" Lory pressed the button of the intercom.

"President, Tsuguga-san and Kyoko-san are both here to see you"

"Send them in"

Ren entered first followed by Kyoko.

Haruto felt a lump in this throat as soon as he saw Kyoko. If ever he had any doubt that this girl is Akiko, it's gone now. The moment he saw her entered the room his heart told him this is his long lost daughter. He wanted to get up and hug her. To tell her how much he missed her and how glad he is that she is alive and well. He wanted to tell her that he's there to take care of her, to give her all the love she deserved. Tears welled up in his eyes and he wiped it quickly before anyone notice. He sat still willing himself to stop fidgeting. He smiled.

"Good morning president." Ren and Kyoko said together

Lory smiled "Good morning to you too."

Ren noticed Haruto sitting on one of the sofa. "Sorry I didn't know that you have a visitor. We could wait outside until..."

"No it's Ok Ren. This is my old friend Yamamoto Haruto, Akiko's father." He paused to see their reaction. "Haruto this is Mogami Kyoko and Tsuruga Ren." He introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you Mogami-san and I'm sorry about the incident yesterday at Yakiko. My son phoned me and told me what happened. We didn't mean to surprise you like that."

"It's Ok Yamamoto-san. I'm sure you were going to let me know sooner or later anyway. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to see you again Tsuruga-san"

"It's nice to finally meet you Yamamoto-san. Last time we met I didn't even get your name." Ren said politely.

"You met each other already?" Lory asked.

"Yes at the Ryokan in Hokkaido" Haruto said.

"I see." Lory said with a big grin. He clapped his hands and continued. "Since everyone involve in this predicament are here we can start the meeting. Ren, Mogami-kun I assume you're here because of what happened yesterday." The two actors nodded. "And Haruto is here because of that too." Haruto nodded. "Even if there were enough evidence to conclude that Mogami-kun is really Akiko, we all want to be 100% sure that this is really true. And the only way to do that is to have a Paternity DNA testing. If Mogami-kun would agree to it then we can get that done today." Lory looked at Haruki then at Kyoko.

Kyoko turned to Ren and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I agree to it." She finally said.

"Well then, that settles it." Lory signalled for Sebastian to bring in the person who will take the samples.

After the process of collecting DNA samples from Kyoko and Haruto, Lory insisted that all of them should have lunch together. Lory provided most of the conversation on the way to his favourite Teppanyaki restaurant until they got the topic of Dark Moon. Haruki informed them that most of his employees watched the drama and he also admitted that he's only seen a couple of episode but he watched the original movie with his wife. They discussed how scary Mio was, but when Haruto started talking about Kuu who starred in movie and started comparing the two actors, Lory decided to change the topic to a safer subject.

Lory Complimented the Yakiko resort. Haruto told them that Yakiko resort was really built in honour Akiko and 10% of its profit will be donated to different orphanage around the country.

Kyoko couldn't help but be proud of the man who might turn out to be her father and her she admired him for his generosity.

When it was time for Ren to leave for his job, he reminded Kyoko about their dinner date. And that he would call her to after his shoot.

* * *

><p>Kyoko was sitting in the Love me locker room, pondering about what she had learned about Yamamoto Haruto from talking to him. She realised that she would really like the older man to be her father. He was easy to talk to, like his son. In the two hours that the president gave them, they talked about a lot of things. It was a bit awkward in the beginning Haruto wanted to know about all her favourites, like her favourite colour, favourite dish, favourite flower and so on. Then the older gentleman asked her about acting and how she feels about it. The roles she'd done and offers she received. He asked her about school and her friends.<p>

Her phone vibrated and that awaken her from her reverie. She checked her caller ID and she smiled.

"Hello Ren" She said.

"Hi there, are you still at LME?"

"Hai."

"I'll be there in five minutes. Where should I meet you?"

"I'll go down in the lobby and meet there."

"Ok see you in five."

True to his word, Ren arrived at LME within five minutes. Kyoko was waiting for him already. Their first stop was the grocery store to buy all the ingredients needed for their dinner. Ren enjoyed following Kyoko around the isles without any fans mobbing him. He put on the moustache he wore earlier and the baseball cap. On the way to his apartment Ren stopped at the side of the road a few blocks away from his apartment.

"Where are we going now?" Kyoko asked puzzled.

"You will stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Ren got out of the car and went into a florist. When he came out he was holding a red rose. Inside the car her turned to Kyoko and handed her the rose.

"What is this for?" She asked.

"That's the 12th rose that I owe." She smiled remembering the eleven roses he sent her.

"Thank you." She said softly with an angelic smile. "It's beautiful."

"You're welcome my princess." Kyoko blush bright red at his reply. Her heart was beating so fast but she couldn't help smiling. She was just so happy.

'So this is the feeling of being in love' she thought.

Ren seeing how beautiful she looks with her cheeks flushed and smiling, decided to start driving again before he could do something that would scare her.

As soon as they arrived at Ren's apartment, they headed straight to the kitchen. While Kyoko cook, Ren wash the vegetable for the salad. Kyoko showed him a few pointers how to cut them properly. In no time diner was ready and they were seating in the table.

"Itadakimasu" they both said before taking their first bite. They were quiet for a bit until Ren asked what happened after he left that afternoon.

"The president left us alone to get to know each other."

"How did that go?"

"It was awkward at first but once Yamamoto-san started asking questions the awkwardness disappeared. He was easy to talk to. He wanted to know a lot about me. He asked a lot of questions. And he also told me some stories about his wife and Haruki-san. He loves his family very much. I also found out what really happened when Akiko was abducted." Kyoko paused, she still couldn't see herself as Akiko.

"I told you what Haruki-san told me but Yamamoto-san told me more about her. Akiyama Rika, the person who took Akiko. Yamamoto-san met her at Tokyo University during his second last year there and she became his Kohai. When she finished her studies she asked Yamamoto-san to help her get some work thus she'd became his personal assistant. She worked with him for almost eight years and they've been friend for more than ten years. That's why he couldn't believe that she could do what she did to them. Apparently she was the one who setup the meeting with the auditors to discuss the discrepancy in the financial book. They didn't even know that she was the one who embezzled the money until she took Akiko then they but two and two together."

"Did they find the money?"

"Nope. No trace of it. They think she used it up already because when they searched her apartment they found millions worth of jewellery. That's what Yamamoto-san said."

When they finish their dinner Ren helped Kyoko with the dishes. Kyoko remembered the purpose of their diner date, Ren was supposed to tell her about his past.

"Ren." She said while she dried her hands

"Hhmm" he answered busy putting the dishes away.

"You invited me for diner because you wanted to tell me something. Right?"

Ren stopped midway in his chores and turned to Kyoko.

"I was going to tell you about my pass but I think you have enough to think about for now. I'll wait until we get your family situation settled. For now you need to relax and let you mind rest. And I have the perfect tool to do that."

Kyoko stared at her senpai. Touched by his thoughtfulness. Ren quickly put away the remaining dishes. He took Kyoko's hand and gently pulled her towards the living room. He settled her on his couch before turning on the TV and putting the DVD in. He pressed play and sat next to his princess. The beginning scene of the classic fairytale greeted Kyoko.

"Cinderella!" she exclaimed. "How did you know this is my favourite?"

Ren was about to answer her truthfully, that she told him this when they were young but stopped himself.

"Lucky guess" he said instead.

A few minutes after the movie started, when her body started to relax , Kyoko started to feel the toll of her sleepless night. She curled her legs under her long skirt and started to drift to sleep.

Ren Stiffened when he felt Kyoko leaned her head on his shoulder. He slowly turned his head to look at her and found her fast asleep. He leaned a bit closer and kissed her hair.

"Ren" Kyoko murmured with her eyes still close.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For the movie?"

"That and for loving me."

"It's my pleasure sweetheart." He took her hand and gave that a kiss too.

They remained in that position until the end of the movie. Then when the movie was over he carried his princess into his spare bedroom and tucked her in bed. He brushed her hair away from face and leaned over her ear.

"Good night Kyoko, sweet dreams." He said before brushing his lips on her cheek.

"Night Ren, Ai shiteru." She said in her sleep.

Ren stared, shocked at the sleeping girl in front of him. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He couldn't stop grinning.

"I love you too Kyoko, more than anyone else in this world."

* * *

><p>It's been three days since Kyoko saw Ren and she's starting to miss him. Lately just hearing his voice trough phone calls is not enough for her anymore. She wanted to see him and spend time with him. She took her phone out from her bag. She was about to dial his number then changed her mind. She really shouldn't disturb him. He's very busy right now, especially now that Director Ogata came back. They're on tight schedule.<p>

Kyoko put her phone in her pocket then reached into her bag again. She took out her new Ren doll she made recently.

"Ren, have you had your lunch yet? It's already one o'clock. I wish we could have had lunch together. I miss you."

Suddenly she heard a knock on the door of the love me locker room. She quickly opened the door after putting her doll back in her bag, hoping it's Ren.

She was disappointed.

"Good afternoon Kyoko-sama" Sebastian said.

"Good afternoon Sebastian-san" She greeted back forcing her disappointment down.

"The president would like to see you. If you would just follow me."

When Kyoko arrived at the president's office she was greeted by a Pharaoh.

"Mogami-kun" The president said excitedly. "I have here the result of the DNA test." Raising the white A4 envelope to show her. "I have called Haruto to let him know." Lory looked at the now nervous actress who's looking at the white envelope in his hand.

"Mogami, actually Haruto invited us to his house, but if you'll be more comfortable opening this here I'll call him again,"

Kyoko took a deep breath trying to control her emotion.

"I'm ok going to his house, President." She said not wanting to be difficult.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She answered shakily. "But can you give me a moment please. I just need to make a phone call."

"That's fine. I need to change my costume anyway. You can use this room for your phone call, when your finish just head to the basement parking and you should see my Limo there." The president entered his dressing room and left Kyoko behind.

With shaky hands Kyoko took out her phone and dialled Ren's number. It rang once then...

"Hello Kyoko?" silence

"Kyoko are you there?"

Kyoko took a deep breath before answering.

"Sorry Ren, I wasn't expecting you to answer your phone. I was just going to leave a message."

Ren chuckled "well you can still leave your message if you want." he said jokingly. "Is there something wrong Kyoko?" He asked.

"I'm in the president's office right know. He just informed me that he got the result of our DNA test. We're heading to Yamamoto-san's house in a few minutes." She said in one breath.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm nervous Ren."

"You're going to be fine. Whatever the result says it's going to be fine. We are all here for you." Ren wanted to go with Kyoko for support but he knows that Kyoko wouldn't let him skip his job.

"Thanks Ren. I know I'll be fine. So don't worry about me. I just wanted to inform you where I will be in case you need to talk to me."

"Call me anytime if you need me. I'll give my phone to Yashiro and I'll call you back as soon as I can."

Kyoko smiled. "I will, but don't worry about me."

"I'll be finish by nine tonight, do you think I can see you after? I'll come by the restaurant, if it's not too late for you."

"That's fine. I'll see you tonight then."

"Good luck princess."

"Thank you again Ren."

* * *

><p>It took them forty minutes to get to the Yamamoto mansion. When they got there, Yamamoto Haruto was waiting for them at on his front porch looking excited and nervous at the same time.<p>

He led then through the front door into a big, bright foyer. A sudden déjà vu hit Kyoko. I've been here before she thought. She looked around and found the stairs. She walked towards it and sat on the bottom step.

Lory and Haruto looked at each other.

"Are you Ok Mogami-kun" Lory asked breaking the spell she was in.

She looked up and apologised.

"I'm so sorry, it's just that I have this sudden déjà vu." She admitted.

"It's Ok Kyoko-san as long as you're alright." Haruto said smiling at the actress.

He led them to his study. Kyoko sat on one of the single chair and Haruto took the one opposite to hers. Lory was left to seat on the three seater sofa.

"So, who's going to open the envelope?" Lory asked.

"You can do it Lory, unless Kyoko-san wants to open it." Haruto said nervously.

"No, the president can do." Kyoko said.

Lory looked at his friend and then at his number one love me girl. Then he opened the envelope.

Seconds ticked by and Haruto was getting impatient.

"Lory!" He exclaimed.

"Ah... mystery solved." The president said smiling.

"Lory what are you talking about?"

"I've always wondered where Mogami-san got her acting talent. Now I know. Mystery solved. She got it from your mother Haruto. Mogami-kun or should I say Akiko got her acting talent from her grandmother!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

**Chapter 12**

"I've always wondered where Mogami-san got her acting talent. Now I know. Mystery solved. She got it from your mother Haruto. Mogami-kun or should I say Akiko got her acting talent from her grandmother!"

Kyoko was still staring at Lory in shock. There it is, in Lory's hand, the proof that she's part of a family. That she has a father and a brother. All her seventeen years she thought that her only family is her mother who hated her. Her vision became blurry and she started to sob. All her life she only cried because of pain and sorrows, but now this is different; the tears flowing from her eyes are tears of happiness and joy. She found her family.

She remembered she asked her mother about her father once, but Saena just got angry and she told little Kyouko that her father hated her because she's not smart enough, not pretty enough, not good enough to be his daughter. That's why they got chased away from their home.

She felt a pair of strong, warm arms enveloped her. She knew that it was her father holding her. She relaxed, letting him hug her while her tears flowed. She sobbed softly on his chest.

"Akiko I'm so happy that you're alive and well. Everything will be alright now." He said soothingly. "Your Otou-san's here now. We'll take care of you, your Onii-san and I will always be here for you." He patted her head. "Though your Okaa-san's not here with us anymore I'm sure she's very happy that our little princess is back with her family where she belongs." She felt Haruto kiss the top of her head lovingly. "We've missed you so much Akiko."

Kyoko stayed in her father's arms until she could control her emotions again. When she finally gently pushed herself away from Haruto she found that she was not the only one with red eyes from crying.

"I'm so sorry I ruined your shirt." She said referring to the wet spot in front of her father's shirt.

"No Akiko, you have nothing to apologise for. I should be the one saying sorry. I'm sorry for not finding you sooner. I'm sorry that we hastily assumed that the girl on the train was you because of a bear. I'm sorry I trusted that woman to take care of you. But most of all I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you while you grew up. I wasn't there to protect you. I wasn't there to soothe you when you're crying. I wasn't there to give you all the love you deserve. Please forgive me Akiko..."

"It's Ok Yama..." Kyoko started to say but caught herself, this is her father and she should address him properly. "It's Ok Otou-san. It's not your fault and you didn't know that that person could do that to you." Kyoko reached out to wipe her father's tears that spilt over his cheeks.

"Thank you Akiko. I'm so happy that you grew up to be a kind, loving and compassionate beautiful lady, just like your mother. I'm so proud of you." Haruto pulled her into another hug while Kyoko cried tears of happiness again after hearing Haruto's kind words.

"You're Onii-san will be so happy with the result of the DNA test." Haruto said. "Not that he had any doubt that you're Akiko. He was the one who found you. His friend Kurosaki Ushio showed him your first CM and that led Haruki to you. He would have been here if he knew the DNA result would be here today."

"Where is Haruki nii-san today?"

"In Hokkaido, meeting a couple who's renting our Ryokan for a wedding. He should be back by tomorrow. And he's not the only one who's going to be happy to hear that you're Akiko. The whole Yamamoto clan and Fugiwara clan will rejoice when they hear that you're alive.

"You're Grandma Junko will be very happy to hear that we have another actress in the family. She was hoping her only daughter, you Aunt, will follow her footsteps. But alas her talent lies on different field."

Kyoko and Haruto were surprised when Lory entered the room followed by the Yamamoto's butler, Jeffery. They didn't even notice that he left the room to give them some privacy.

"Oh Haruto, just tell your daughter straight that her aunt Yuko can't act even if her life depended on it."

"It's true what Lory said. Your grandmother won many awards for being the best actress while your aunt couldn't act to save her life." Haruto chuckled. "But she won awards for being the 'best make-up artist' in Hollywood."

"That's true. Your aunt was Jelly Wood's senpai. Jelly learned everything she knows about make-up from Yuko. Here have some tea. We'll tell you more about your family."

Jeffery the butler started to serve tea.

"Akiko, this is Jeffery our butler. You might not remember but he used to play with you and Haruki when you were younger. His father was our butler then and now that he's retired Jeffery replaced him. Jeffery this is Akiko, we finally found her."

"It's nice to see you again Akiko Ojou-sama." Jeffery bowed before serving Kyoko.

"Thank you Jeffery-san." Kyoko smiled at the young butler.

For the next three hour, Haruto and Lory told Kyoko about her family. She learned that:

-Both sets of her grandparents are still alive.

- Her only aunt, Yuko Andersen, is married to a Hollywood director and they have three sons; Jordan 23yrs old, Gabriel 21yrs old and the youngest Riley is a year younger than Kyoko. Yuko is two years older than Haruto.

- Her father's parents' names are Yamamoto Akira and Yamamoto Junko.

- Her Grandfather is a business man while her grandmother was an actress. Her stage name was Ezawa Makino.

- Her grandmother acted in the original Dark Moon. She played Misao and Mio's mother.

- Lory's mother, who was also an actress, was her grandmother's greatest rival in acting world but also her best friend in real life.

- Lory and her father grew up like brothers.

-They all migrated to L.A. the year they buried the fake Akiko.

She also found out things about her mother:

-Yamamoto Akemi is the only child of Fugiwara Shun and Reina.

- Fugiwara Shun and Yamamoto Akira are best friends who wanted to combine their family through marriage.

- Akemi and Haruto had an arrange marriage but her father told her that he loved her mother all his life.

- Akemi and Haruto also grew up together.

"Akiko I believe that there is only one person that is meant for you in this world. You're perfect half, someone that completes you. I was one of the lucky one who found my perfect half early. No one can ever replace your mother in my heart." Haruto said when Kyoko asked him why he didn't get married again after her mother passed away.

* * *

><p>Ren was feeling agitated. It's been a couple of hours since Kyoko called. What if she was crying. What if she needed his support. It's really killing him to be away from her right now. He took his phone out and dialled her number.<p>

* * *

><p>"Are you alright Akiko?" Haruto worriedly asked when he saw his daughter shaking like she was having a seizure.<p>

"I'm fine Otou-san," She took her phone out. "My phone was just ringing. It's on vibrate mode at the moment." She checked her caller Id and smiled lovingly. "Excuse me." She said before exiting the room.

"Is he her boyfriend?" Haruto asked.

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about. Tsuruga Ren!"

"Ah...How do you know it's him who called?" Lory asked nonchalantly.

"Don't play games with me Lory! I know it's him because I saw her give him that look when he was reassuring her in your office three days ago. So, is he or is he not her boyfriend?"

"Ok, ok! Calm down! Over protective father!" Haruto glared at him. "Fine, I'll tell you what I know. I'm not certain if they are together yet..." Haruto was about to say something but Lory stopped him and continued. "I've been trying to get them together for almost a year now. I told you before that Kyoko, I mean Akiko, has trouble with love didn't I? She lost the ability or should I say she's scared to express romantic love. That is why she's my number one love me girl. Ren on the other hand knows this and he doesn't want to scare Kyo.. Akiko, that's why until now he hasn't confess to her yet. But they've always been close and don't worry Ren is very much in love with Akiko, he wouldn't hurt her. Not intentionally if ever."

Haruto gave him a doubtful look.

"Believe me Haruto. Ren loves Akiko as much as you love Akemi or As much as I love my Yumi. They are meant for each other."

Haruto remembered the day he first met Ren in Hokkaido. How lonely he looked at that time. He recalled their conversation:

_"She's not my girlfriend." Ren told him._

_"Not your girlfriend, but you want her to be?"_

_Ren nodded._

_"Have you asked her out yet?"_

_Ren shook his head no._

_"Why not? Does she have a boyfriend by any chance?_

_"No. It's just that she's not ready to have a boyfriend."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because some brainless fool of a guy broke her heart and told her that she's plain and boring, not worth loving. So she built a wall around her heart"_

Now that he remembered, he couldn't deny that Ren really loves his daughter.

"I guess I can give him a chance to prove himself." Haruto said. Lory just rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>Ren was pacing impatiently in his dressing room waiting for Kyoko to answer her phone.<p>

Ring.

"Answer the phone please Kyoko"

Ring

"Answer it please."

Ring

"Come on!" He murmured as if sending Kyoko some mental telepathy message.

Ring.

"Hello Ren" Kyoko said cheerfully.

Ren heaved a sigh of relief. 'She sounds happy' he thought.

"Hi Kyoko. How are you?"

"I'm fine Ren. It's been confirmed that I'm the real Yamamoto Akiko." Kyoko said happily.

"You sound really happy. I'm glad."

"Thanks Ren. And yes, I am happy. The president and Yam... I mean Otou-san are telling me things about my family. I just found out that President Takarada's mother and my grandmother were best friends and my grandmother was an actress. Also President Takarada is my Godfather."

Ren listened with a smile on his face.

"Oh Ren, I've got so much things to tell you."

"So, is it still alright for me to visit you tonight or will you be too tired when you get home?"

"No, it's fine. You can still come over tonight, unless you're too tired to do so."

"NO! I'll see you tonight."

"Ok, I'll see you then. Drive carefully."

"I will I promise. Bye"

"Wait! Have you had your dinner yet?"

"I'm about to get it now."

"That's good. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu."

* * *

><p>It was nine o'clock when Kyoko left the Yamamoto residence. Her father tried to convince her to stay the night but she declined. She had two reasons why she did; first she was not comfortable enough to sleep over yet and the second one is, she wanted to see Ren and tell him everything she learned about her family. She would have called Kanae but she knows that she's busy filming in Korea.<p>

Before her father let her go, she had to promise to come back the next day for dinner. Now she's sitting in one of her father's car driven by the family chauffer on the way to the Darumaya. Suddenly the car stopped and a guy wearing a balaclava opened her door and presses something on her nose and mouth, then darkness.

* * *

><p>Ren was sitting in his car which was parked near the Darumaya. He picked up his phone to call Kyouko when he noticed a dark blue van parked in front of a black car. One guy was pointing a gun on the black car's driver's head and the other one carrying a girl to the van.<p>

Ren dialled 110 to call the police, but before it could ring he recognised the girl the guy was carrying. He jumped out of his car and was about to run to Kyoko's rescue when the van drove off. He went back into his car and followed the van in a safe distance. Making sure that the kidnappers doesn't see him. All the while he dialled Lory's number.

"Moshi moshi Ren" The president said in a cheerful tone. "If you're looking for Kyoko-chan, she's on her way home."

"President Kyoko's been kidnapped!"

"What! When? How?"

"I was waiting for her near her home when I saw a van pulled over in front of a black car and I saw one of them carried Kyoko in the van!" He said darkly.

"Where are you now Ren?"

"I'm following the van. Call the police and track the GPS on my phone. The van just turned into a dirt road."

"Ok Ren, I'm calling reinforcement. Don't do anything stupid."

Ren turned off his headlights and turned into the same road he saw the van turned to. He followed the road until he reached a fork at the end of it.

"F**k!" he cursed out loud. He's becoming more and more agitated. 'Which way did they go?' he thought. Ren took out his penlight and got out of his car. He studied both roads and found a fresh tire tracks on one of them. He followed it.

A few kilometres later, the road led Ren to an old factory where he found the dark blue van parked in front. He turned off his engine and continued on foot.

* * *

><p>When Kyoko woke up she found herself tied on a chair. She blinked a couple of times and her eyes focus on a lady with long black hair sitting in front of her peeling an apple. The woman looks like Kyoko but older. First Kyoko thought its Akemi but the eye shape is different. This woman's eyes are more almond shape while Akemi's are like Kyoko's, more rounder. The jaw line is quite different too and the lips are slightly thinner than the real Akemi. Then the woman looked up as if sensing her stares. Kyoko saw the biggest difference. This woman's eye colour is grey not golden.<p>

"Oh! You're awake!" The woman said with a smile.

"Who are you? What am I doing here?"

"Really Kyouko, don't you even recognise your own mother?" She laughed. "Well don't you think we look more like mother-daughter now?"

"Akiyama Rika?"

"So they told you about me huh? What else did they tell you Kyouko? I should be really calling you Akiko since you know your true identity now." Rika a.k.a. Saena continued peeling the apple she was holding. "They told you it's all about the money right? Well they don't know anything!" She suddenly shouted and it made Kyoko flinched.

"Don't worry Kyouko dear, I won't hurt you..."she gave Kyoko a sinister smile. "I'll make you're death quick, but not yet." She rubbed the gun that was on the table. "I think you have the right to know the real reason why I'm doing this. So I won't kill you until you hear my story."

She got up and walk towards a camera perched on a tripod.

"You don't mind if I record our little conversation do you? After all you're an actress you should be used to cameras in front of you. This is just a little present for your father."

Kyouko watched her check the camera.

"You should really blame your mother for what you've been through and what you're still going through." She said calmly walking towards Kyoko. She stood behind the actress and grabbed a fistful of her short hair. She yanked it down so that Kyoko is now looking up at her. The young actress winced from the pain.

"She's the b*tch who stole everything that's supposed to be mine." Saena continued. Hatred filled her eyes. Then as if remembering that she's talking to Kyoko and not Akemi, she released her.

"Ooppsss. Sorry" She said with a grin. "I said I wasn't going to hurt you but every time I talk about your mother I get very passionate."

She went back to her seat. "Would you like some apple dear? I have so much to tell you and you might get hungry."

"No thank you." Kyoko answered her.

"Suit yourself. So... where do want me to start?" Saena asked in a very friendly manner as if she was talking to her close acquaintance.

"How did you meet my father?" Kyoko new that she needed to keep Saena talking longer hoping that Ren would realise that something was amiss when she doesn't turn up at the Darumaya. Or that the Yamamoto driver would be able to get help from the police and rescue her. Maybe Ren will see the driver and the driver could tell him what happened. Either way she needed to placate this erratic woman and keep her busy talking.

"Ah...I met Haruto during my time in Tokyo University. He was introduced to me by my business studies professor. He was so charming that I couldn't help but admire him. He was the most handsome guy I've ever met. Not only good looking but intelligent and sexy too. He was just perfect in every way.

"He was two years ahead of me, so naturally he became my senpai. I would often ask him for help, even when I don't need it." Saena had a faraway look on her face, it seems like she was reliving her happy time with Haruto in her mind.

"Any excuse will do just to be with him, to be near him. He would spend countless hours helping me do my assignments and teaching me. We were happy then...But that stupid B*TCH ruined it." Saena's eyes became darker and her face twisted in an angry sneer.

"She ruined everything!" Saena said between clenched teeth. "Haruto was in love with me but he was forced to marry her! She used her father's influence to get Haruto through an arrange marriage, because she knew Haruto will never like a plain, unattractive girl like her."

Kyouko didn't believe that Haruto was ever in love with Saena. Her father himself told her that Akemi is the only girl for him and that he has loved Akemi ever since they were young. Rika was delusional.

"You don't believe me do you?" She said accusingly to Kyouko. "You think I'm lying! You're just like everyone else! My friends, his friends, everyone said Haruto is always kind to everyone and I'm not special to him. They said he treats everyone the same as he treats me. But they were just saying that because they're all jealous of me. I'm pretty, I'm sexy, smart and I had Haruto's affection.

"You know he only married that sl*t out of responsibility? He needed to honour his father's promise to Akemi's father. It's just his nature to be a good son. That's why even though he loved me he still married her." Seana smiled again.

"But I knew that their marriage wouldn't last. Haruto will eventually get bored with her and leave her. 'I needed to be there when that happens.' I told myself. Just in case he needed my support. So when I finished my studies I asked Haruto to help me find work. He hired me as a receptionist and then from there I worked my way up to be his personal assistant. I did everything I could to be the best PA while waiting for him to dump his useless wife. Years passed and I was getting impatient but I told myself 'Rika wait a little bit more. It will happen soon especially his wife couldn't give him a daughter he longed for. She's lacking.

"Then just when Haruto was starting to warm up to me again what did that conniving witch do? She got pregnant with you!" Saena slammed her hand on the table.

"She didn't want Haruto near me because she knew Haruto still has feelings for me. She deliberately got pregnant and pretended to be weak to prevent Haruto from spending longer hours with me. That's when I had it!"

Suddenly she giggled like a little girl.

"Do you want to know a secret Kyouko-chan?" She asked excitedly. Not caring for Kyouko's answer she continued. "I killed your mother." Saena watched Kyouko's shock expression turned to disgust. She laughed enjoying the moment with satisfaction.

"It was a perfect murder. Everyone thought it was just an unfortunate accident." She smiled beatifically "You must be wondering how I did it...Don't worry I'll tell you. You see Kyouko when you're beautiful and well endowed, you could get everything you want from men. I achieved what your father couldn't, a meeting with a very important investor. How? I used my charm and my...gifts" She smiled secretively.

"I made sure the meeting was the same day as the charity ball you parents attend to every New Year's eve. Your father didn't like your mother travelling a long distance without him but she insisted that she would be fine for the night and he shouldn't waste the opportunity given to him.

"I was there too at the charity ball. Not because I cared about those filthy orphan brats, in fact I hate kids. I always attended because it's a chance for me to meet Haruto's acquaintances. So when I become his wife I know who to socialise with. This time I went there for a different reason. I had a mission. To free Haruto from your mother's evil clutches.

"The murder was so easy. All I did was gave her driver a drink with sleeping pills in it. Did you know that coffee won't keep you up if you dissolve sleeping pills in it?" She said like she was telling Kyouko some trivia.

* * *

><p>Ren saw lights coming from two separate windows. He stealthily approached the one nearest to him. The window was set high but not high enough for Ren to peek though. Inside he saw three men sitting around the table playing cards.<p>

"How long do we have to wait?" one of the guys asked.

"I don't know. Saena said we have another job after she talks to the girl." The other one answered.

"I don't really care how long we wait, we're getting a million yen each after this plus we're given this fine liquor..." the other guy lifted a glass full of golden coloured liquid. "...Let's just enjoy this."

Ren walked towards the next window. Hoping that he would see Kyoko there. Before he could peek he heard a woman's voice.

"The murder was so easy. All I did was gave her driver a drink with sleeping pills in it. Did you know that coffee won't keep you up if you dissolve sleeping pills in it?"

Ren was now more alarmed after hearing the woman talk about murder. He peeked inside. A woman with long black hair was facing the all tried up Kyoko, who Ren could see. He assessed the situation. He knows he could take on the three men without a problem but he doesn't want to alert the woman who's got Kyoko.

He listened again to what the woman is saying.

"Then the witch's driver fell asleep and they swerved into the oncoming traffic hitting another car, both her and her driver died. That was one of the happiest moments in my life. The wicked which was dead and my Haruto was finally free."

Ren ducked down when the woman started to turn towards the window. He hoped that she didn't notice him. He waited for her reaction.

* * *

><p>Kyoko was studying the room discreetly trying to find the best escape route in case a miracle happened and the rope binding her to the chair magically disappeared. She saw that the door was the only way in and out. She looked beyond Saena to the high window. She blinked twice like she was trying to clear her eyes without rubbing them. She thought she saw Ren. But that's impossible. How can Ren know where she is? Was she hallucinating now?<p>

"Kyouko!" Saena said with her familiar stern voice that Kyouko used to hear a lot when she was little.

Kyoko sat up and returned her gaze at the woman in front of her. Though Kyoko could see Akemi's features, the express on this woman's face was pure Mogami Saena. Same expression she uses whenever she's expressing her disappointment or disapproval of Kyouko. Same expression that made her cry so many times.

"Mogami Kyouko! Are you listening to me?" Saena continued in the same tone. "Am I just wasting my time telling you all this when you're not even interested?"

Kyouko shook her head no. "I'm interested." She said eagerly. She didn't want to make Saena angry. She needed Saena talking more to buy her more time.

Saena smiled again after hearing the eagerness in her voice.

"What was I saying before you rudely interrupted me?"

"You were talking about how you killed Yamamoto Akemi."

"Ahhhhhhh! Don't ever say that name in front of me! I hate that name!" Saena covered her ears with both hands and shook her head from side to side.

Kyouko stiffened. Scared that she made Saena angry. But to her relief Saena just gave her a stern look and continued with her story.

"Yes, the witch is dead and my Haruto free. But of course he can't marry me straight away. He had to show people he was mourning. In the meantime I had to prepare to be the next Mrs. Yamamoto Haruto. I don't to embarrass the love of my life. I needed to get the right clothes. The right shoes, makeup and jewellery. I can't use the old wife's stuff. I have decided that I would get rid of them as soon as I can.

"I needed to get the expensive stuff. Designer clothes, shoes and accessories. But I didn't have enough funds for them. Don't get me wrong, Haruto pays me enough as his PA. I could afford to buy one designer outfit with my weekly pay, but I could never afford the jewellery that goes with it. I needed extra funds. So I decided to get it from Haruto's company, since it will all be mine too as soon as we're married. Plus I was doing this for him, he'll understand."

Saena pause and sadness clouded her years.

"I waited a year Kyouko." She said softly "A year for him to end grieving period. But I knew something was amiss when he didn't stop grieving for her after that time. I knew she used her black magic on him so he would never look at another woman again. After all my effort, after all I've done. I wasn't good enough for him! All my effort wasn't good enough!"

She got up and started pacing.

"I wasn't good enough can you believe it! I did my best to free him by killing her and I still failed." She stopped pacing and glared at Kyouko.

"You should know how I felt at that time. I made sure enough you felt the same way when you were reaching out for me. Every effort you made wasn't good enough. I made sure you felt inferior and inadequate. Just like how your mother made me feel when she put that spell on your father. You had to suffer because you're the witch's daughter who made my life miserable. You know what gave me the satisfaction of doing that? Your eyes. Every time I see you cry it's like seeing the witch cry."

She laughed wickedly.

"I'm sure they've told you you've got her eyes. The golden eyes of the witch. She thought she could defeat me but she couldn't." Saena walked towards Kyouko and stared closely into her eyes. "Don't be scared Kyouko, I'm not finish with my story, so I'm not going to kill you yet. I was just explaining why you had to suffer when you were little. So let's continue." She went back to her seat.

"When I heard that he was going to have that meeting with the company's auditors, I knew he wouldn't understand me anymore. He's still under her spell. He'd get angry with me, so I decided to flee. The day of the meeting he wanted me there with him. I wasn't sure if he figured it out. But I needed to get out of there and opportunity came when your nanny called saying she's got some emergency. I volunteered to take care of you and I guess your father still trusted me so he let me. Then I had an idea, I'll take you with me. He could never hurt me if you're with me, his little princess. I had to hide. That day I took out the money I embezzled from your family and most of the jewellery I bought but not all. I only took the most expensive ones and some clothes. I was sad to leave my designer ones.

"I'm smart Kyouko. I'm always prepared. When I ran away from my parent's I made different Identities and Akiyama Rika was one of them."

"Why did you ran away from your parents?" Kyouko asked.

"Ahh...that's another long story. But I'll tell you the short version. I ran away because they wanted me to stay in this hospital. They said I was sick, but I wasn't. They were lying! I didn't feel sick, I was Ok! They just didn't want me anymore at home. So I made it easy for them by disappearing."

"Where are they now?" Kyouko continued to ask wanting Saena to talk more. She had another glimpse of Ren's dark hair from the window.

"They're both dead." She answered nonchalantly. "I heard they died a few years after I ran away. I don't know how they died, I don't really care. But they left their property to me their only child. I didn't claim it until later on because at that time I couldn't go back yet as Mogami Saena. I was working at your father's company at that time. Before you ask, yes my real name is Mogami Saena. But enough with my family history.

"So I was saying I'm smart and hiding was no problem. I've done it before. All I had to do was take on my real identity. I've got all my Identification. I went back to my hometown in Nagasaki. I told everyone a false story that my I'm hiding from my abusive husband and you're my child and he wanted to take you away from me. For the next few months we stayed at my parents' old house. But after three months of not seeing your father I begun to miss him. I moved us back to Tokyo. But they were still looking for us. I was confident they wouldn't see through my disguise but I wasn't sure about yours. I dressed you up in boy's clothing and cut your long hair short but I couldn't do anything about your eyes. I tried putting contact lenses on you but you would rub your eyes so much that they would fall off. So we had to move again.

"That was our life for the next two years. We would move every three months. Then after two years of hiding, someone tipped them that we were in Nagoya. I bought us train tickets to Osaka to make them think that we're going there.

"On the train station I meet another mother with a four year old daughter, I befriended her and slipped Akiyama Rika's ID into her belongings. She wasn't in my plan but luck was on side. When I grabbed the pink box I really didn't know that it wasn't yours." She smiled at her fortune.

"The train had an accident and finally our hiding was over. They made a mistake. They thought we died on that train. And they still didn't know my real identity. I can walk freely now but I still had to hide you. So we went to Kyoto, to my old friend's Ryokan. Fuwa Norika was my best friend in elementary school but she had to move to Kyoto to learn how to be an Okami-san. I told them my battered wife story. It was perfect setting. I could leave you with them while I go back and forth to Tokyo to see your father.

"Then one day when I went back to Tokyo he wasn't there anymore. He migrated to US with his family. I was so devastated at that time. How am I going to live without seeing him? I wanted to follow him straight away but I couldn't. I needed to plan my disguise. Then I remembered that he was still under that witch's spell. Even if I introduced myself as Mogami Saena and disguise myself, he still wouldn't love me. I needed a plan to make him love me again. I needed to get through that spell. If he will only fall in love with that witch when what can I do? Then it came to me. Why not make myself look like the witch? It was perfect. I can get surgery.

"It took me three years to get all the funds I needed to do the surgery. While I work, I left you with the Fuwas. The surgery and healing time took another two years. Then it was another three years before I would save enough money to live comfortably in US. Before I left I sent Norika a letter letting them know that I won't be back for you. I also sent them a check."

Saena's eyes started to gleam.

"It took me another year to finally find Haruto. You should have seen his face when he first saw me. All the pain I went through to get this face became worth it. He was smitten by me. He followed me everywhere I went. He wanted me and I defeated the witch. We were so in love. We went on dates after dates. We were so happy. The only thing missing was a marriage proposal..."

* * *

><p>Ren could feel that Saena was nearing the end of her story. He already message Lory letting him know the situation and their location and he received a message back saying the police are on their way. He moved to the first window again and peeked inside.<p>

He saw one of the men has already passed out and the other two still playing with the cards.

"That's it! you win. I don't have any luck tonight." One of the guys said putting his cards down. He got up.

"Where are you going?"

"Outside. I need fresh air!"

'This is my chance.' Ren thought. He waited for the guy outside and sneak up on him from behind. He used the pressure point to put the guy to sleep without a sound. Then he checked for any weapons on the guy. When he found none. He went back to check on the other men.

"Taka!" The other guy shook the sleeping man. "Wake up! Saena might come out soon. She'll get angry if she finds you sleeping. Plus I need to take a piss you have to stand watch. Daisuke went outside for fresh air."

"Who would come in here now?" The drunk Taka said. "Nobody knows we're here!"

"Just get up will you!"

"Ok I'm up. Happy?"

"Just don't go back to sleep."

"I won't."

Ren waited and knocked out the other guy same way as the first. This time Ren found a pistol on him. He took the weapon and checked on the last guy. He found him sleeping. Noiselessly he went passed the guy and walked towards her door leading to where Kyoko is.

* * *

><p>"...The only thing missing was a marriage proposal..."<p>

Suddenly a confused look appeared on Saena's face.

"I don't know what happened. I don't have clue where I went wrong. We were happy and in love then two years ago, Haruto disappeared. He didn't say where he was going. I looked everywhere for him. But I couldn't find him. Even his family were worried because he left without telling anyone. I was really worried too. A few weeks later his family received a letter from him saying he was in Italy.

"I waited for him to come back but he didn't. He left me behind. He threw me away like a dirty rug after all I've done for him! Do you know how angry and hurt I am?" Saena's eyes blaze with fire. "I'm angry enough to want revenge on him. And this is my revenge. I want him to feel the pain I felt when he left me. And now you're leaving him behind and he will know that it's his entire fault this happened.

"I'm so sorry Kyouko dear but your time is up. I need to kill you know." She got up and pointed the gun at Kyoko. "No hard feelings!"

Ren ran in and Knocked the gun out of Saena's hand and in the process knocking Saena on the floor too. But not before he could prevent Saena from pulling the trigger.

BANG the sound resounded in the room.

Ren quickly looked at Kyoko and found that her left arm was bleeding.

"Are you Ok Kyoko?" Ren asked.

"I'm alright. It's just a scratch."

Ren looked at the woman on the floor. She was knocked out. He took the gun and went to untie Kyoko. He started ripping the bottom of his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Kyoko asked.

"We need to stop the bleeding." He wrapped her arm with his makeshift bandage. Then he pulled her up and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're alright!" He kissed the top of her head. "We need to get out of here! The police should be here soon too help us."

Suddenly Ren felt a sharp pain near his left shoulder. Ren and Kyouko didn't notice the derange woman got up and took hold of the knife she used to peel the apples. She drove the knife into Ren's back. The force made his knees buckled. He went down. Saena pulled the knife out again and was about to plunge it to Kyoko's heart when Kyoko took hold of the gun Ren took from Saena. She pointed it to Seana and pulled the trigger. Saena fell.

Author's Note:

Finally Saena made an appearance. She drove me crazy. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Two more chapters and this story should be finish, unless I find something to else, so stay tuned.

If you notice I used two different spelling for Kyoko's name.

- Kyouko - with the u is how they spelt her real name. Therefore that's what I used every time Saena used her name.

- Kyoko - Is the spelling of her stage name which I've been using through out the story.

And if you do find some typos please do excuse me. The time is 3am Sydney time.

Please Read and Review. Thank you. *BOW*


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

Chapter 13

**BANG**

Abe Hiroshi was the first officer to enter the building after they heard the gunfire. He surveyed the area for any danger. Finding only a drunken guy passed out on the table, he continued towards the next door.

There he found a woman with long black hair poised to stab a teenager. He acted immediately by aiming his gun and firing. The woman fell. He ran towards the girl and the seemingly injured guy.

Saena fell.

Kyoko let go of the gun and cradled Ren.

"Ren are you Ok?" She asked in a panicky voice.

"I'm fine Kyoko." Ren said attempting soothe her.

"Are you guys alright?"The officer asked after quickly examining the body of the woman who fell.

"He's been stabbed. We need an ambulance." Kyoko explained. The officer radioed for the help.

Kyoko took her cardigan off and used it to cover Ren's wound then she put pressure on it trying to stop the bleeding.

Ren winced in pain.

"Sorry!" Kyoko said "but I need to try to stop the bleeding."

Ren reached out and wiped her tears away.

"Kyoko, I need to tell you something..." Ren said softly.

"Ssshhh! I'll listen to whatever you want to say to me later when you're better, I promise. For now, save your strength."

"Kyoko...I love you..."

"I know you do Ren and I love you too." She leaned forward to kiss his forehead. Tears flowing from her eyes. Ren smiled upon hearing her say those words. He rubbed his thumb against her wet cheeks trying to wipe the tears that wouldn't stop flowing.

"Don't cry my Kyoko-chan. I'll be fine..." His breathing became shallower. "It always breaks my heart to see you sad even when we were little...That's why I gave you that stone."

Kyoko understood every word he said but she couldn't comprehend the meaning behind it.

"Shush Ren, please save your strength." She begged placing her finger on his lips.

Ren kissed her finger and closed his eyes.

"Ren please stay with me...Don't close your eyes yet...just look at me...Ren." She begged over and over again.

Ren tried to open his eyes but he's feeling dizzy. He's starting to drift into unconsciousness.

"REN...PLEASE...REN ...STAY...!" Ren tried to focus on Kyoko's voice.

"Akiko!" Kyoko heard her father before she saw him enter the room.

Haruto rushed in to look for his daughter. He found her sitting on the floor covered in blood.

"Akiko are you Ok? Are you hurt? What happened?" Haruto kneeled down in front of her with Ren in between them.

"I'm fine Otou-san." She said between sobs. "But Ren is badly hurt; we need to bring him to the hospital NOW! We need to help him" She was hysteric now. "Please Otou-san I can't lose him! Ren open your eyes please! Ren!" she cried.

"Akiko! Listen Akiko! Look at me!" Haruto said trying to get his daughter's attention. "The ambulance just arrived; they should be able to help him. Don't worry Akiko, Ren-kun should be Ok." Haruto patted his daughter's head trying to comfort her.

As if on cue, the EMT entered the room with Lory.

Lory rushed towards his number one actor.

"What happened?" Lory wasn't expecting Ren to be hurt. After all he knew the extent of Kuon's martial art knowledge and training.

"He was stubbed." Kyoko cried. "Saena stubbed him!"

Lory and Haruto looked to their left where a police officer and a medical aid were examining a woman.

One of the EMT started examining Ren and gave him some emergency treatment.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kyoko asked

"The wound's deep and he lost a lot of blood but it seems it didn't hit any of his vital organs. We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible and he would need a couple of stiches." They moved him onto the stretcher.

"I'm going with him in the ambulance." Kyoko announced with determination leaving no room for argument.

* * *

><p>As soon as they arrived at the hospital Ren was admitted into the operating room while Kyoko into one of the clinics to get her wound dressed. She would have preferred to go with Ren inside the OR and hold his hand but was not permitted to do so. As soon as the intern finished putting the bandage in place, Kyoko rushed towards the waiting room of the OR where Lory was waiting.<p>

"Akiko, don't worry too much, I'm sure Ren-kun will be Ok." Haruto said as he watched his daughter pace back and forth.

"They're taking so long! What if something went wrong? What if..."

Haruto got up and took both his daughter's hands.

"Akiko, please think positive. Ren-kun would be alright. He wouldn't want to leave you alone." He gently gave his daughter a hug. "He will be fine. Now come on and sit down. You look exhausted." He led her to the seat he was seating on before and sat her down.

"I'm not tired" Kyoko said but she didn't resist her father.

Half an hour later the doctor exited the OR. Kyoko immediately got up from the seat next to her father.

"How is he Doc?" She asked eagerly

"His condition has been stabilised at the moment. The wound was deep and long so he needed a couple of stitches. Our main concern right now is that he lost a lot of blood and he needs a transfusion."

"Just do what is needed to save him Doctor." Lory said. "I'll sign the paperwork"

"Paperwork is not the problem, the problem is his blood type is O negative which means he can only receive O negative blood and right now we don't have enough in stock. We need a donor."

"I'm O negative I'll donate." Kyoko volunteered.

"That's good! If you could follow nurse Yumi we can get started."

* * *

><p>When Kyoko awoke she felt a bit disoriented.<p>

She looked around and found her father asleep on a chair with his head resting on her bed. Yamamoto Haruto fell asleep while holding his daughter's hand who was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted after her ordeal.

A tear rolled down Kyoko's temple. She felt a tug in her heart. 'So this is how it feels to have a father who loves you and cares for you.' She thought. She smiled.

A sudden moment caught the side of her eye. She turned her head to her right and found her brother asleep on the couch. 'When did he get here?' she thought. 'Wasn't he supposed to be in Hokkaido?'

Haruto felt movements and he opened his eyes to find his daughter already awake.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he examined her face for any discomfort.

"I'm feeling much better now Otou-san, thank you. How's Ren?"

"He's fine now. The doctor said that it might take a couple of hours before he wakes up. They gave him a very strong pain reliever."

"I'm glad he's Ok." She heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you for staying with me." She said shyly.

"Akiko, I know that we've only known each other for a short time but you're my daughter and I want you to know that I love you and I'll always be here for you when you need me. Same goes for your bother." Haruto turned to look at his son.

"He rushed back here when he found out what happened to you."

GURUGURUGURU.

"What was that sound?" Haruki jumped up and looked around to find his father and sister looking at him.

Kyoko let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Sorry to wake you up onii-san." She said turning red. "That was just my stomach." She giggled at Haruki's bewildered expression.

"Are you hungry baby?"

Kyoko turned even redder after hearing her father call her 'baby', but she nodded.

"I'll go and get you something to eat. What would you like?"

"Ummm... Otou-san I can get it myself." She felt a bit dizzy as she sat up.

Haruto and Haruki are instantly by her side holding her up.

"Akiko, are you alright? Does anything hurt? I'll call the doctor..."

Kyoko touched her father's arm. "Otou-san I'm fine. I just got up too quickly, but I'm fine." She gave him a big smile.

"I'll get the breakfast Akiko." Her brother said.

"No onii-san, I need to stretch my legs anyway so why don't we all go and eat together instead."

Father and son looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

"Ok, now I just need a few minutes to freshen up. Please excuse me." She got up and walked towards the bathroom.

"Wait Akiko!" Haruki said.

She turned to look at her brother.

"Here..." he gave her a bag. "Clothes and toiletries. Nana insisted that I bring it. You can use that now so you don't have to walk around in your pyjamas."

Kyoko looked down and found that she was indeed wearing pink and white stripe pyjamas. She couldn't remember changing into them last night so how did she get into them?

Haruto laughed at her confused expression.

"You clothes were covered in blood so I called Jeffery (A/N: the butler) to bring you some clothes and I got one of the nurse's help to get you changed." Haruto explained. "You were so exhausted I didn't want to disturbed you to ask you to get change yourself."

"Thank you Otou-san." She smiled before moving towards the bathroom.

* * *

><p>"Sweetheart please don't do this. Let's pause for a moment and think about our actions." The tall distinguish looking gentleman with black hair and moustache whispered to his beautiful companion. He looked around trying to be inconspicuous.<p>

"No Kuu!" Julie turned around to speak to her husband. "I need to see my baby." She said forcefully or as forcefully as it can be considering she was whispering. "He needs me" She gave him her puppy dog eyes.

"But sweetheart think about Kuon. This might ruin all his hard work."

"I'm his mother I should be there next to him when he's sick and in hospital." Her eyes harden "Or in this case when he's in hospital because he got stabbed by some crazy b***h while he's trying to rescue his princess." A tear rolled down her cheeks. "Please honey, I need to see him. I need to see that he's ok with my own eyes." Another tear escaped from her beautiful blue eyes.

That was the last straw and Julie knew she won already. Kuu doesn't like seeing his wife in pain.

"I'll call the boss and see what he can do."

"Thank you dear." Julie gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I'll go freshen up while you call the boss."

Kuu took his phone out and walked towards the exit looking for a quiet place to make his phone call while Julie walked the opposite direction towards the ladies room.

That's where she saw the girl with orangey short hair and golden eyes. It's the eyes that captured the beautiful model. She rushed towards the girl and hugged her tight.

* * *

><p>After breakfast, Kyoko and her father headed to Ren's room while Haruki decided to go home and get change. On the way Kyoko stopped by the restroom.<p>

The first person Kyoko notice when she exited the restroom was a beautiful tall woman with her hair in a stylish scarf. For a moment Kyoko's golden eyes met the stranger's blue ones. Kyoko smiled and nodded before turning to look for her father. But before she could fully turn she was engulfed in a bear hug. She stiffened but before she could move she heard the lady say.

"I miss you so much Akemi."

* * *

><p>Haruto was waiting for his daughter to come out from the rest room when his phone rang. It was his secretary confirming the rescheduled appointment for him. He didn't notice his daughter exiting the restroom nor the woman who seized her. Haruto put his phone in his pocket and looked up to see his daughter being embraced by a tall woman. He walked quickly to them.<p>

"Julie?" he said as he recognise the woman.

Julie let Kyoko go and wiped her tears.

"Haruto! You're here!" Julie gave him a smile then turn back to the frozen girl.

"Sorry..." she said sheepishly "It's just that you look so much like my friend."

Haruto chuckled. "It's ok Julie...She does look so much like her mother."

Julie turned to him shocked and confused. "How..? When..? Akiko?"

"To make the long story short we made a mistake. The girl we found on the train wasn't Akiko. Julie..." He paused and put his arm on Kyoko's shoulders "...I want you to meet my daughter, Akiko."

"But how?"

Haruto started explaining. While Kyoko stared at the beautiful woman. Enchanted by her beauty she started studying her. Somehow she reminds Kyoko of someone. The more she stared the more she gets the feeling that she's seen her before.

'Is she an actress?' she thought 'she certainly looks like a model. Everything about her is beautiful, all her features. Her face shape, her prominent cheek bones, and the nose and perfectly shape lips. Her blue eyes are beautiful. Her beauty is ethereal like...'

A sudden epiphany hit her.

'She looks like...' "Ren" she said out loud. 'She could be Ren's mother. Their facial feature are so similar if Ren's eyes were blue it would be exactly like hers.'

Both Haruki and Julie turned to look at her when they heard her say Ren's name.

"Oh! Sorry Julie, we're actually on our way to see her friend. Are you going to be Ok..."

Before Haruto could finish his sentence Kuu arrived.

"Sweetheart the boss gave his per..."

"Father?" Kyoko said.

"Oh S**T!" Kuu cursed under his breath. He was so focus on telling Julie the good news that he failed to notice Julie's company.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Hi guys, I'm back. So sorry for the late update. I know that I said that 2 more chapters and this story's finish but I've decided to change the ending and add a couple more chapters. So I hope you enjoy this chapter.

To all the people who are reading this story and people who are reviewing it and people who are adding this to their favourite and alerts, THANK YOU!


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

**Chapter 14**

They are all now sitting in Ren's private room.

"Baka!" Lory muttered as he glared at Kuu.

Kuu, sitting next to his wife, looked back at Lory sheepishly.

Kyoko took another peek at the beautiful couple then her gaze shifted to the beautiful man sleeping peacefully just a few metres away.

'They really are his parents.' She thought. 'Now that they are all in the same room I can clearly see the resemblance.'

"...How can you just stand in front of the toilets and chat like that? People..." Kyoko heard the president say. She smiled recalling the event that took place a few minutes ago.

*FLASHBACK*

"Sweetheart the boss gave his per..."

"Father?" Kyoko said, shock upon hearing Kuu's voice come from a man with black hair and moustache.

Kuu murmured something she didn't hear.

"Father?" both Julie and Haruto said in confusion.

"Hello Kuon." Kuu greeted Kyoko first before explaining to the other two to why she calls him father.

While Kuu was explaining Kyoko started to observe him. His facial expression, the way he stands, his gestures are very familiar.

"...that's why she calls me father..." Kuu ended his explanation with a big proud smile. "So now Kuon I would like you to meet your mother, my lovely, beautiful, sexy, wonderful wife Julie."

"Kuu, I've already met Akiko," Julie said "now I can see that you really didn't exaggerate when you describe her to me. She truly is beautiful."

Kyoko blushed.

"Akiko? Who's Akiko? I'm confused. Her name is Mogami Kyoko."

"She's my daughter Kuu."

Kuu turned to Haruto "You're daughter?"

"Yes..." Haruto started to explain everything that had happened. And that's how Lory found them. Chatting just outside the restroom.

*END FLASHBACK*

"...After all you're both famous! People can easily recognise you!" Lory ended his speech.

"Boss, that's why we are wearing disguises." Kuu said.

"Oh! is that what you call that?" Lory said at pointing at Kuu's moustache and hair. "I thought you were trying to dress-up as me."

"Boss If I was trying to dress up as you I would have worn a pirate costume or a pharaoh costume or something very flashy."

Kyoko and her father tried to hide their laughter by pretending to cough but Lory wasn't fooled. He glared at them.

"And you Mog...Kyoko-chan! You're a talent and you have been in different dramas and CMs don't assume for a minute that no one will recognise you!"

Kyoko bowed her head and said "Sorry President Takarada."

"Really all of you...!"

Ren could hear voices but the words are all muffled and he couldn't recognise who they belong too. Then he heard a voice that he could recognise anywhere.

'It's her voice.' He thought.

"Kyoko?" he called out hoarsely. His throat felt very dry.

Kyoko heard him call out. It was soft but she heard him over Lory's tirade. She got up quickly and rushed towards him.

"I'm here Ren." She said taking his left hand into hers. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit sore but I'm Ok now, so don't cry anymore." He lifted up their hands and used the back of his hand to wipe the tear that scaped from her eyes.

"I'm so relieved that you're ok. I don't know what I would have done if...if you..." she tried to say the words but couldn't.

"It's Ok I'm here. I'm still with you." He kissed her hand.

"Ahem!" Kyoko heard someone behind her clear their throat.

"Oppss! Sorry." She said with a cheeky smile. She looked into Ren's eyes and continued. "I forgot, Ren, you're parents are here."

She felt everyone's eyes on her. Then she heard them talk at the same time.

"Did Ren tell you already?" Lory asked

"How did you know?" Julie asked

"When did you find out?" was Kuu's question.

"He's Kuon?" Haruto asked.

Kyoko saw shock then fear and finally panic in Ren's eyes.

"Kyoko, I...I'm so sorry!...I..."

Kyoko silenced Ren by touching his lips with her index finger.

"Shush. It's Ok Ren. I stand by my words. I did promise that I would listen to whatever you want to tell me when you're better. Right you need to relax and rest." She gave him a reassuring smile before turning to their audiences.

"To answer your questions; Ren hasn't told me who he's parents are, I figured that out myself."

"How?" Julie asked.

Kyoko turned to her and smiled. "With your help... When I first saw you I thought you looked very familiar. Like I've seen you before but I couldn't remember where. Then I realised why you looked so familiar, it's because you look so much like Ren. Or Ren look so much like you. The face shape, your lips and especially the eyes. I thought you could be his mother or older sister. You're both very beautiful." She said blushing bright red.

"When father introduced you as his wife that's when I put two and two together. I remembered Ren telling me that his mother is a famous American model and his father is a half Japanese half American actor." She gave them a big smile.

"He's Kuon?" Haruto asked again

Kyoko turned to face her father and answered him.

"Yes Otou-san, he is Hizuri Ku..." She stopped mid sentence and looked at Julie and Kuu then at Ren. "Just...by any chance have you ever been to Kyoto?" She asked Ren.

Everyone turned to Ren.

"Yes." He answered softly.

"When you were ten?"

"Yes"

"And your natural colour is..."

"Blonde. Same as mum's.

"Your eyes?"

"Same as mum's." He said again.

There was silence after that as the two younger actors stared at each other.

Kyoko couldn't decide whether to be angry at Ren or be happy that he is actually Corn. She felt sad that he kept this a secret from her for a long time but she also feels happy she got to see her friend again.

"Kyoko I'm really sorry..." Ren said breaking the silence. "I really wanted to tell you earlier but..."

Kyoko took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Corn..." she said cutting his explanation short. "It's Ok. I'll wait." She squeezed his hand gently. "Don't worry too much about it. I'll wait for your explanation. But right now your parents are here to see you." She smiled at him reassuringly, then she let go of his hand and moved away from him to give Julie and Kuu room to see their son.

Julie was the first to move closer to Ren. She patted Kyoko's shoulder and said thank you before turning to her son.

"I've missed you so much Kuon." She cried as she leaned down and kissed his forehead. "We were so worried when we heard what happened."

"I'm so sorry mum for everything. I'm sorry for not saying goodbye when I left US. I'm so sorry for making you worry all the time."

"I'm your mother Kuon! It's my job to worry about my baby." Ren blushed at being called baby.

"We're proud of you son." Kuu said joining his family. "You grew up into a fine, strong, good looking, loving, talented adult."

Everyone rolled their eyes with the exception of Kyoko who just smiled and silently agreed to what Kuu said.

"Oya baka!" Lory murmured.

The doctor came in to check on Ren a half an hour after their teary reunion. Lucky for everyone the Doctor didn't recognise Kuu or his wife. The doctor gave them the go signal to let Ren be transferred to Lory's house the day after so he can recuperate in private. But before he left he gave his patient another pain medication.

Ren went back to sleep while the rest of the group ate lunch and asked Kyoko questions about what happened earlier and why did she call Ren Corn. She reluctantly told them the story of Corn and how they met when she was 6 years old leaving the part about her thinking he was a fairy prince.

Shortly after lunch the police came to get their statements.

"We really don't need to ask you a lot of questions Yamamoto-san" The officer said to Kyoko. "We already got her confession on video. But we need your statement for the record."

Kyoko tried her best to answer most of their questions but she couldn't do much. She didn't see her kidnaper's faces nor did she know what happened to them. All she could remember was that the car she was in was stopped by a van and a guy opened her door then pressed some kind of material on her nose and mouth. When she opened her eyes again she was already in the room with Saena.

The police officers thanked them and stated that they will just come back to get Ren's statement. They also informed the group that Saena is now quadriplegic due to a bullet hitting her spinal cord and she's still unconscious.

After the officers left, Kyoko went back to her room accompanied by her brother who arrived with the police officers. While her father took care of all the paper works for her release.

"Akiko, we really think you should move to our house. We would feel better knowing you're safe with us." Haruki said trying to convince his sister.

"Are you sure it's ok? I don't want to inconvenience you."

"Akiko! We would love to have you back with us. We're happy that we found you and Otou-san and I would like to get to know you. You're part of our family."

Kyoko thought about it for a few minutes. She really did want to get to know her father and brother. Coming to a decision she said:

"I have to talk to the couple I live with and let them know what had happened. They've been really kind to me."

"Does that mean you will move in with us?" Haruki asked excitedly. She just nodded before opening her room door.

"Where have you been?"

Kyoko heard a familiar annoyed voice as she entered her room. She turned to the speaker.

"Shoutaro what are you doing here?" She asked.

"What am I doing here? I heard from Shoko that you were in hospital, I was feeling charitable so I decided to visit you." He said nonchalantly. Just then Sho noticed Haruki. "Oi! I need to talk to her in private so get lost." He arrogantly ordered Haruki.

Haruki was about to answer him back but Kyoko beat him to it.

"Fuwa Shoutaro! You have no right to be rude to my brother!"

"Your brother? Since when did you have a brother?"

"Since she was born baka." Haruki said.

Sho glared at Haruki and haruki glared back. Kyoko sensing the tension growing turned to her brother.

"Onii-san, can I just have a moment with him?" she said in a soothing voice.

Haruki turned to his sister. "Are you sure?"

"Hai. I need to talk to him."

Haruki assessed his sister to see if it's ok to leave her with Sho.

"I'll be fine." She assured him.

"Ok" he finally said. "I'll just be outside if you need me."

Haruki gave Sho a warning glare before leaving. Sho just smirked back at him.

Kyoko watch her brother close the door before turning to Sho, who was sitting on the couch Haruki slept on. She walked towards the seat near the bed and sat down facing him.

Sho watched her. He wanted to ask so many questions about what's happening in her life. About her new found relative and how can she be sure that that guy was really her brother. Why she was in hospital. He couldn't take the silence anymore.

"How can you be sure he really is your brother? He might be just saying that to take advantage of you. You can be very naive you know?" He said like he was scolding a child for misbehaving.

Kyoko took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She didn't want to fight with Sho anymore. She was a living witness to what anger, hatred and revenge did to a person. She just experienced the full force of Saena's hatred and revenge. After all she's been through she decided to just abandon her revenge.

"The DNA test proved it Sho." She answered. "And even without the DNA test just one look at his eyes you'll know that we are related. We have the same eyes. If that doesn't convince you, then my mother's picture will. I look exactly like her. We all have the same eyes."

"I've seen you're mother Kyoko, and if I remembered correctly she doesn't have the same eyes as yours. Hers are dark brown." Sho stated and smiled triumphantly, like he just won the argument.

"She wasn't my real mother." She said softly.

"What?"

"She wasn't my mother. Mogami Saena is not my mother!" she said a little forcefully. Tears started running down her cheeks.

"What...How...?" Sho doesn't know what to say. He felt paralysed. Her tears does that to him all the time.

"She took me away from my real family when I was two years old. She wanted revenge and she embezzled a lot of money from my father's company." She explained between sobs.

"She confessed everything to me after she kidnapped me again last night..."

This revelation jolted Sho from his shock state.

"Then after her confession she tried to kill me." Kyoko started shaking. Only now that she's talking about her ordeal, that she felt the weight of what really happened to her. The officers didn't need ask about what happened in the room with Saena. They have everything on video. Nothing sink in the night before because she was so worried about Ren's condition. This morning she didn't have a chance to think about what had happened because of all her discoveries. Now that she's talking about it she felt exhausted. She shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if Ren didn't save her.

Sho stood up and walked towards his former friend. He's feeling so many emotions at the moment. He was angry and disgusted at Saena. His heart's breaking upon seeing the girl he loves crying because of that woman. He wanted to hug her and comfort her. Wipe away her tears and make her happy. He kneeled down in front of her and took her hands in his.

"Kyoko..." he said gently. He waited for her to look at him. "Kyoko..." he said again when he didn't get a reaction from her. This time she looked at him.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that..." He continued.

Kyoko was confused at his sudden change.

"I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to save you or protect you..." He said with anger in his voice. "I'm sorry for not being there for you..."

Kyoko could see sincerity in his eyes.

"I promise from now on I'll be your protector... I love you Kyoko and I want you back in my life." He said softly.

Kyoko just stared at him. She wasn't expecting this. In fact she wasn't even expecting sympathy from him and most definitely not a love confession. She was too dumbfound to speak at the moment. She search Sho's face for any indication that this is just one of his sick jokes. Or if he was just toying with her. But all she could see was his sincerity.

Sho was dreading her reaction. He didn't mean to confess like that but he wanted her to know how he really feels about her. He wanted to see her smile again like old times. He just hopes that she doesn't think that he's toying with her.

"I'm so sorry Shoutaro but I've changed already. I'm not the old Kyoko you knew." She said after a long minute pulling her hands away from his grasp. "I may still be the boring, plain, no-sex-appeal girl you knew from your childhood..."

Sho flinched as she described herself using his own words.

"...but I cannot go back to being your maid. A lot has change in my life already. I've met people who loves me for who I am."

"Kyoko, I don't want you to be my maid. I can afford to hire one now. I want you to be my girlfriend. I love you Kyoko can't you understand that?" frustration colouring his tone.

Kyoko shook her head. "I'm so sorry Sho but I cannot return your feelings. I don't feel the same way anymore..."

"But why? Do you have a boyfriend now?" Sho knew the answer before she could utter another word just by looking at her deep blush. "Who is it? Is it that no-talent, pin-head senpai of yours? Is it because of him that you wouldn't accept my feelings?"

Kyoko could feel her anger surfacing upon hearing Sho's insulting description of Ren but she pushed it down. Getting angry will not help her. She wanted to tell him how she felt about his betrayal. How much he made her suffer. She was not expecting an apology from him but she just want to get everything off her chest. She took a deep breath again before speaking.

"Yes, he's part of it." She admitted "Sho the day I overheard you tell Shoko-san about how you regard me, how you felt about me. I felt sad, betrayed, angry and I wanted revenge on you for all the pain you've caused me. It hurt me deeply to hear the one person who I trusted the most didn't even care about me. Yes you didn't force me to come with you to Tokyo, I willingly came because I wanted to support my best friend, my only friend to achieve his goals."

"I'm so sor..." Sho started to apologise but Kyoko cut him off.

"Sho I'm not telling you this because I want your apologies. I'm telling you this because I wanted to get this off my chest. I want to start over again. To let go of all the bad feelings I have. To let go of my grudges I don't want to end up like Saena..." She looked at Sho with pleading eyes.

"Sho after that day...that day we parted I've lost fate in love. Stopped believing in it .I even hated that word. I started believing no one will truly love me. Because of that I failed my first audition at LME. But lucky for me, President Takarada gave me another chance. He created the love me section in his company for people just like me. For the last year and a half I've learn a lot of things. I found who I really am. Experienced a lot of different things. I've even made friends." He thought about Kanae, Maria, Chiori and all the people she has met throughout her career.

"I'm a lot happier now. Of course a lot of people helped me to get to where I am now. Tsuruga-san was one of them. He was always there supporting me, helping me and teaching me..." She said with a soft smile.

"I get it, you're in love with him." He said bitterly. It stung to see Kyoko talking about another guy with such a gentle look. He had seen that look a lot of times when she used to talk about him.

"But is he in love with you? Maybe he just want you to be his maid." He already knows the answer to this question. He has seen how possessive Ren is towards Kyoko.

Kyoko ignore the last comment but answered his question.

"I believe he does. He told me so." She said softly at first. "He loves me so much that he was willing to put himself in danger just to save me." She said with more conviction as she thought about Ren's actions.

"He's an actor Kyoko. I'm sure he's just using his skill to get you to do what he wants. Then when he's done with you he'll hurt you and leave you."

"I don't believe he will. I'm so sorry Sho..."

"Fine..." he said getting up from his position. He had enough listening about how great Ren is. And he's not about to beg for her to come back. He still have his pride. "Just don't say I didn't warn you! And don't think about running back to me when he does hurt you because I won't accept you. I'll just say 'I told you so'. I gave you this last chance to be with me Kyoko and you blew it. Just hope you don't regret it."

Kyoko could tell that his defence was now up. She just nodded.

"Good bye Kyoko."

"Bye Sho. I wish you all the best. I know you'll find the right girl for you."

"Whatever!" he said before exiting the room.

Kyoko just sighed.

* * *

><p>"What happened Sho? Is Kyoko-chan alright?" Shoko asked her charge as soon as he got into the car. She noticed that Sho seems to be in a bad mood now.<p>

"Nothing! She's fine!" he sneered.

Shoko decided to leave him be.

Sho sat quietly thinking about Kyoko's parting words 'I know you'll find the right girl for you'

"I found her already but I just let her go." He murmured.

"Sho did you say something?"

"Nothing! Just drive!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

Thank you to all who reads, review and fav. this story. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I promise next chapter will be up soon. Thank you for waiting patiently.


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

Chapter 15

Kyoko moved in to her father's mansion as soon as she got out of the hospital. Haruto insisted that he wanted to thank the Daruma-ya couple for taking care of his daughter. Therefore they went straight from the hospital to the restaurant where Kyoko lives. Haruto explained the situation and expressed his gratitude. He also invited the couple to the grand opening of Yakiko resort. The couple were sad to see Kyoko go but they were also happy that she found her family. Kyoko promised that she would visit them often.

When Ren arrived at the Takarada's mansion the following afternoon, Kyoko wasn't there yet. She visited him briefly that morning in the hospital just to let him know that her father and her are going to Kyoto to pay a visit to the Fuwas. She explained that her father wanted to thank them for taking care of her after Saena abandoned her. He personally contacted the Fuwas the night before to set up the meeting.

It was already past eight o'clock when Kyoko arrived at Lory's mansion. She quickly said hello to everyone apart from Julie who was nowhere to be seen. After her quick and polite hellos she rushed towards Ren's room. Eager to see him.

Kyoko found Ren sitting on the bed, reading the script for his new movie. She quietly knocked at the open door to get his attention.

He looked up and gave her a dazzling smile that made her knees feel like jell-o.

"Hello, can I come in?" she asked timidly.

"Of course!"

She walked towards him and sat at the edge of the bed.

"So how are you?"

"How was your trip?"

They both spoke at the same time and then both nervously laugh.

"How was your trip?" He asked again eager to hear what the Fuwas had to say.

"It went well. I was afraid that they would be angry with me for running away. But they said they were just glad Sho and I are ok."

Ren was surprise to hear Kyoko say Sho's name so calmly. He wanted to ask about it but nervous of what she might say.

"They were really surprised to meet my father. " She continued. "I'm just beginning to understand how well known my father is in the hotel industry. Even the Fuwas knows of him. I've never seen Shoutaro's mum act like that. It's like he's a king that she's serving. They were so honoured to have him in their Ryokan. I felt so proud to introduce him as my father and at the same time I felt scared that I won't be able to live up to the expectation of being his daughter..."

"I know the feeling." Ren said. She looked deeply into his eyes and saw sadness in them.

"Ren..." she touched his arm to comfort him. "...I'm ready to listen whenever you need to talk."

Ren took her hand in his, he lifted it to his lips and kissed her palm. he took a deep breath and started talking.

"I felt like that when I was young. I'm very proud of my father. He was my hero and he still is my hero up to now. I wanted to be like him. He's a very talented actor and people expected me to be exactly like him. When I started acting they started comparing me to him and the found that I was lacking. This hurt me a lot and I started to feel inadequate to be his son. The more people talked the more I felt that I'm disappointing my father. I started to be reserved and my parents became so worried." He paused trying to collect his thought.

"Father's hand's are too big...my wings gets trapped in them... I still haven't been able to fly freely..." Kyoko said remembering Corn's words. Ren gave her a smile.

"You remembered. It was during that time that I was feeling really low and you came along and made everything better for me even just for a while. I was ten when my parents decided that maybe a new scenery would be good for me. My parents took days off from their jobs to bring me back to my dad's home town. I didn't really wanted to go because I felt that I was being a burden to them. Taking them away from their jobs that they love.

"As soon as we got to the hotel and unpacked, I left to look for a place to sulk. I saw a path in the forest so I decided to follow it. A few minutes into my walk I heard someone crying and I started to walk towards the sound. I found the clearing, then I found a girl with pigtails crying her heart out. It broke my heart to see you cry so I decided to cheer you up."

"I remember that. I was really startled to see a fairy prince." Kyoko said eyes sparkling going towards the fairy world.

Ren laughed bringing her back to reality.

"What? You really looked like a fairy prince at that time. With your golden blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. I've seen a lot of foreigner in Fuwa's ryokan but I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you. Even Shoutaro, who I thought at that time was the most handsome guy in the world, couldn't compare to you." She slightly grimaced before continuing. "So I assumed only fairies can look that good."

"Why thank you very much kind miss." Ren chuckled. "I'm honoured to hear that you once thought I was beautiful."

"You still are" She said under her breath.

"What was that?" He asked

"Nothing. I'm just deciding whether I should be angry with you for not telling me sooner that you're Corn."

"I'm really sorry Kyoko. I wasn't ready to tell anyone my secret. And I couldn't tell you that I'm Corn without explaining about my appearance. Plus I was busy trying to stop myself from falling in love with you."

Kyoko blushed.

"Kyoko I've done things in my life that I'm not proud of...I've always thought that I have no right to be happy. And being with you are the happiest times of my life. Even when we were little."

Kyoko squeezed his hand "Ren everyone deserve to be happy. And you're not the only person who made mistakes in their lives. I myself have done things I'm not proud of. I followed a guy to Tokyo only to find out I was being used as a maid..."

"But you never caused a death." He said softly.

She could feel his hand getting colder and his eyes going blank.

"I was so inspired by your determination." He continued his story. "You had trouble with your mother but you were so determine to overcome it. You were fighting for her acceptance while I was on the verge of giving up already. Giving up on my dreams. So when we came back from our trip I decided to give my best and try again. First I was doing alright. getting little roles here and there. But people started talking again, saying I'm only getting those jobs because of my father and his connections. In my hasted to prove them wrong I became arrogant. I started to try so hard that my acting became forced and unnatural. Then the directors started firing me when I wouldn't listen to them.

"I was thirteen when I met Rick. He was a few years older than me. He knew my situation. He knew that I was being bullied by some guys at my school and he knew that I just let those guys push me around. Not because I couldn't fight back but because I didn't want to trouble my parents. He kept urging me to fight back. calling me a chicken when I wouldn't listen to him." Ren smiled a little at the thought before continuing.

"He was the one who told me to eat that Maui rice I made. He said it's a start in overcoming my inner 'chickeness' . I was fifteen when it happened. I was waiting for Rick in one of the studios when the guys who bullies me arrived. They started harassing me. I ignored them as best as I could but when they started talking about my race something inside me snapped. They under estimated me. They assumed I didn't know how to fight...but one by one they started dropping. Until the leader was the only one left. Rick came as I was about to give him the final blow. He held me back stating that the guy was down already. But when the guy got up and ran, I ran after him. Rick chased after me. That's when it happened... Rick got hit by a car. He died instantly... I killed my best friend... my one and only true friend."

Kyoko took a sharp breath but Ren didn't hear her.

"If only I had listened to Rick...If I hadn't chase that guy...if...if I had just kept my cool and ignored them..."

Kyoko let go of his hand to hold his face between her hands.

"Ren..." She called out.

"...I don't really deserve to be happy..."

"Corn..." She said louder.

"...I don't deserve someone like you..."

"KUON!" She shouted. But didn't get any response. She leaned forward and kissed his lips. At first Ren was too shock to respond but as he started feeling her warmth and the love behind the kiss, he closed his eyes and responded. They were both breathless by the end of the kiss.

"Wow!" Ren exclaimed. "I love the way you brought be out of my hysterics."

Kyoko blushed bright red. She wasn't sure what made her so bold that she would initiate a kiss. All she knew was she wanted to get Ren's out of his catatonic state.

"Well its either that or a slap on the face. But I don't think I could live with myself if I mark Japan's most desirable guy."

"I'm glad you chose the other method but please don't do it to anyone else but me." He chuckled.

Kyoko was glad that his mood's lighter now, but when she looked into his eyes she could still see the sadness, in them brought by his friends death. She could also see his guilt and self loathing behind that sadness.

"Ren," She said, taking his hand again. "listen to me. Rick's death is not your fault!"

"But it is Kyoko! I was the cause of it!" He looked down.

Kyoko lifted his chin up and looked into his eyes.

"Look at me Ren." She said in a commanding voice. She was scared that she's losing him again. "Please Ren hear me out. It's. Not. Your. Fault." She emphasised each word. "His death was an accident."

"An accident that I've caused. If he hadn't ran after me..."

"Yes Ren, he chased after you because he cared about you. That's his choice..."

"Are you saying it's his fault?" Ren challenged her statement.

"No Ren. I'm saying it's nobody's fault. It was an accident. He made a choice, and that is to go after you..." Ren was giving her a disgusted look.

She sigh.

"Two nights ago you were in Rick's shoes. You had a choice to go after me and put yourself in danger or go straight to the police and let them handle the situation. But you chose to follow the van I was in and put yourself in danger. Why?"

Ren gave her an incredulous look. 'how can she ask that question? can't she tell how much I love her?' he thought. Then he remembered this is Kyoko. She's dense when it comes to love.

"Because I love you and I'll be damned if I ever let anything bad happen to you." He answered.

"Thank you." She smiled at him and continued her line of questioning to get her point across. "When you were following that van did you even stop for a second and think about the danger your putting yourself into?"

"No...My only thoughts were to get you out there alive and safe."

"I bet that was what Rick was thinking back then. He probably didn't think of anything else but getting you out of that situation. He wanted to help you..."

"I didn't need help Kyoko. I could have finished that guy in one blow..."

"Yes I believe you could. I've seen you fight and I know you're capable of protecting yourself. But I believe that Rick was trying to prevent you from doing something that would get you into a bigger trouble." She pause to take his hand again into hers.

"Ren, as I can see it you're a lot like Rick. You both would risk your lives without hesitation to save someone you care about."

Ren shook his head from side to side.

"No Kyoko, I'm not like Rick. Rick is good through and through. And he didn't deserve to die young. I should have been the one that died...If only..."

Kyoko gasped. Hearing him talk like that is hurting her so much.

"Ren, there are things in this world that we cannot prevent. And death is on top of the list..."

"But Rick's death could have been prevented if I've just listened to him..." Ren said stubbornly.

Kyoko could see that they are just going round in circle so she decided to change her tactics.

"Ren, two nights ago you were stubbed because of me. If..." She pause trying to fight the sudden tightness in her throat. She swallowed hard and forced herself to continue.

"If you didn't make it..." she said softly "...and...and you left me...would you be happy if I blame myself?" She was almost whispering now. Without meaning to, a tear ran down her cheek.

"Oh Kyoko!" Ren exclaimed. he lifted his hand to wipe away her tear. "If I had died that night it wouldn't have been your fault. It would have been that bitch's fault." He said fiercely. "She was the one who stubbed me..."

"And Rick's death is not your fault...It's the driver's fault. He was the one who ran him over." She concluded.

For a moment Ren was dumbfounded at her statement. He was about to argue when Kyoko continued.

"A lot happened these past few days and it got me thinking: Things happened for a reason Ren, Good or bad. And I'm talking from experience. I was taken away from my loving family at the age of two. Mentally and emotionally abused at the age of six. Abandoned by the woman who I thought was my mother at the age of twelve. A runaway at the age of fifteen, thrown and betrayed by the person I thought I was in love with at the age of sixteen. Kidnapped and held at a gun point at the age of seventeen. And most importantly I almost lost the guy I love." She whispered the last part, but Ren heard her. And it made his heart skip a beat.

"Enumerating all that, my life sounds really bad. But all those bad experience led me to where I am now. All of them have a positive side too. If I wasn't taken away when I was two, then I wouldn't end up in Kyoto. If I wasn't mentally abuse when I was six then I wouldn't be in the woods crying my heart out and if I wasn't in the woods that day I wouldn't have met my fairy prince. If I wasn't abandoned then I wouldn't be staying with the Fuwas. If I wasn't staying with them I wouldn't be close to Shoutaro. If I wasn't close to him I wouldn't have ran away with him. If I didn't go with him I wouldn't be hurt by him, then I wouldn't seek revenge and I wouldn't have joined LME. If I hadn't joined LME I wouldn't have meet all the wonderful people I have met now. I wouldn't have met you again. I wouldn't have found my family because I wouldn't have been an actress." She pause to see his reaction.

"Corn..." She said using his childhood nickname. "What I'm saying is events that happened in our lives is what brings us to where we are now. Good things that happened, we should be grateful for those and the bad experience, it's up to us to find the positive side of it. If we can't find the positive side then we can learn from them to better ourselves. But we shouldn't dwell on them. The past is past and we cannot do change it. All we can do is accept it and let it go. " Kyoko could see that Ren is beginning to understand her point.

"Rick's death is unfortunate and you have the right to be sad. But you shouldn't let that event rule your life. Rick wouldn't want you to waste your life feeling sorry. And I'm sure he wouldn't want to be the cause of your unhappiness. Plus you owe it to Rick to live your life to the fullest because that is his gift to you, a second chance in life."

Ren couldn't help it. He pulled her towards him and hugged her. He awed by how Kyoko look at life.

"Thank you Kyoko. You've always been the one who could make me feel better."

Kyoko hugged him back.

"I'm glad I could help." She said smiling. "I'm just beginning to understand and accept these things too. From now, I've decided that the incident with Shoutaro was a blessing in disguise..."

Ren released her to look at her face.

She smiled at him.

"... After all it led me to find myself...and to find you... And it's all because of Sho..." Then she started to chuckle as she suddenly thought of something.

"What?" Ren asked puzzled.

She stopped herself from laughing and look him in the eye.

"Actually I should blame you!" She said with a straight face, as straight as she could, but there's still amusement in her eyes. "It's your fault that I got hurt at that time..."

Ren's jaw dropped.

"How was it my fault? I wasn't even there!" he asked incredulously.

"Yes you were! Well not in person and not when I heard him say those hurtful words but you were the reason it happened."

"Kyoko...I don't understand."

Kyoko laughed at his expression.

"Kyoko!" He said in frustration. "Please explain!"

Kyoko raised her hand in surrender before the demon lord can come up.

"Ok...ok..." she said "I'll tell you..." she took a deep breath and started her story. "The night before I heard him say those awful words about me, I came home and found him in our apartment. I was really happy because I hardly saw him during those time. I thought he came to visit me, but apparently he just came home to get some of this things and he was on his way out already. I wanted him to stay longer so I bribed him all his favourite snacks..." She paused trying to remember the event fully.

"The T.V. was on while he was eating but we weren't really paying attention to it. While he was eating his treats I was feeding his ego by talking about how some girl at work who switched from being your fan to being his fan. I remembered he was really happy about that. He was resentful that you were always voted as the 'Top Guy' and he hated you for that."

He chuckled. "I guess he has more reason to hate me know. So what happened next?" He asked curiously.

"Well, while we were talking the host of the show on T.V. announced that you were their guess and when she announce that you were again voted the number one top guy, let's just say Shoutaro's mood went downhill from there. I tried to placate him by saying awful things about you...Oh I'm so sorry Ren!...I'm so despicable...I'm so stupid...how can I say all those things about you when I didn't even know you then...please forgive me..."

"Kyoko! It's ok!" Ren stopped her ranting by hugging her again. "I understand. You yourself said we didn't know each other back then. I'm sure it's your loyalty that made you say those words." he said soothingly. "So what did you say about me?" he asked as he let her go, he really curious.

Kyoko looked down and mumbled something he couldn't hear.

"What was that Kyoko?"

She took a deep breath and answered him.

"When the host commented about your height I told him that you probably wearing those shoes that made you taller."

Ren chuckled loudly.

"And when the host showed the survey I told him that he was a bit too young for women in their twenties. That made him so angry that he left." She continued. "I was so worried that I made him angry so I kept calling him to apologise but I kept getting his voice mail. Then I decided to bring him some food to cheer him up. When I got there, I found him flirting with his manager. He was telling her that he only brought me with him to be his maid and that he's not interested with a plain, boring girl with no sex appeal like me." She frown slightly. Then continued.

"I was so angry at him and his betrayal that something inside me snap. I wanted to take revenge on him and I told him that. That's when he challenge me. He said that I won't be able to touch him unless I make in entertainment business. You know the rest of the story."

Ren watched her closely. waiting for her usual reaction but it never came.

Kyoko noticed him watching and she chuckled.

"I'm over it Corn." She said guessing what he was thinking. "I finally let go of my hatred and revenge. I'm over and done with it. I finally told Sho how I felt."

"You talked to him?" Ren couldn't hide his jealousy and worry.

Kyoko gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yes I've spoken to him when he visited me before I left the hospital. I've told him how much he'd hurt me and that I've moved on now. I also wish him well in the future." She then change the subject.

"So technically speaking it's your fault I got hurt! If you weren't the guest on that show then Sho wouldn't be angry and if he was not angry then I wouldn't be worried and If I wasn't worried then I wouldn't go to his agency then I wouldn't hear him say those words that hurt me so much..."

"But you said that that event is a blessing in disguise, so you should thank me then." He smiled cheekily. "And I know just the right way for you to do it."

"Oh? and what is that?"

"Be my girlfriend."

Kyoko eyes widen. "I thought that was given already. Since we've been confessing to each other in so many words."

Ren chuckled.

"Oh my Kyoko! In case you haven't notice, when it comes to love I have to be really specific with you. Hints usually doesn't work with you."

Kyoko blushed.

"I was trying so hard to avoid falling in love because I didn't want to get hurt again but I wouldn't help falling for you." She said softly.

"So is that a yes? You're my girlfriend now?"

She nodded.

"Wohooooo! you made me the happiest man alive! Thank you! thank you! thank you!"

Ren pulled her closer and kissed her.

"Wow!" she said when their kiss finally ended. "I can't believe I'm actually going out with my fairy princes!" she exclaimed.

"Ummm...Kyoko I think we established that I'm not a fairy..."

* * *

><p>Julie moved away from the wall she was leaning on just outside Ren's room. She didn't mean to eavesdropped on them. She was on her way to see how her son was doing after her phone call when she heard Ren talking about his past. She couldn't help but listen to his story. And now she's glad that she did stay and listened because now she knows that he would be OK with Akiko by his side.<p>

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed speed dial 2 to call her PA while she walked towards the kitchen to find her husband.

"Hello Rachel. I need you to do something for me..."

A few days later The Yamamotos, Hizuris and Takaradas are all sitting in the Yamamoto's family room after they all had dinner.

"I've got something for you Akiko." Julie said with a cheeky smile. "Is it ready Jeffery?" She asked the butler.

"Yes Julie-sama." Julie turned the TV on and pressed play.

* * *

><p>(AN: _Italics_ means on T.V/Video)

_On the screen appeared a blonde three year old almost four little boy looking out of the car window._

"_Kuon." He looked at the camera and smiled. When he heard his mother called._

"What is this Mom?" Ren asked

"Sshh! Just watch" Julie said.

"_Kuon do you know where we're going?"_

"_Aunt Akemi's house." The little boy answered._

"_That's right. Aunt Akemi's got a new baby girl and she's going to be your wife someday."_

"_Wife?" The little boy said, confused. "What's a wife mommy?"_

"_You'll know later. But this is our little secret Ok? Don't tell anyone yet."_

Ren looked at his mom with disbelief. So did everyone else in the room

"Mom?"

"I'll explain later, just watch first." She told everyone.

Next the screen showed:

_Kuon walking towards Akemi who was holding a baby. He looked back at his mother who was holding the camera._

"_Mom! Pretty baby." He said pointing to the baby girl in her Akemi's arms._

_Akemi smiled at him._

"_Kuon this is Akiko."Akemi said. "Akiko this is Kuon your future husband."_

_Little Kuon looked at Akemi and then his mom._

"_Pretty Kiko." He said then he turned and leaned over the baby and kissed her._

_Both Adult laughed._

Julie can felt everyone staring at her. She pause the video.

"Ok explanation time. I know you guys wouldn't enjoy the show if I don't explain" She said exasperated. She looked at Kyoko then at Ren.

"I'm not sure if you remember Akemi, Kuon. But Akiko would have been too young to remember me. Everyone knows this, except you two and our little Maria here; Akemi had been my best friend ever since I was thirteen. We met when my father was visiting their ryokan in Hokkaido. Every summer vacation I would spend two weeks here in Japan and she would do the same when its school break. In between that we wrote letters to each other and phoned each other. We didn't have any secret from one another so when she told me about her arrange marriage, I was against it. Sorry Haruto, no offence but at first I didn't believe you could be truly happy marrying someone you're parents force you to marry." She glanced at Haturo.

"No offence taken Julie-san." Haruto chuckled.

"Of course I told her my opinion. But she told me that she truly love Haruto. Then I met your father Akiko and I saw that he was really in love with my best friend. When they got married I saw how happy they were so that changed my opinion about arrange marriage." She smiled.

"When I was pregnant with Kuon, Akemi had Haruki already. We thought it would be nice if our children were to get married. If I had a baby girl we would help get them together. If they fall in love then that would be great if not then they are still free to choose who they want to be with. But I had a beautiful baby boy instead." She smiled affectionately at Ren.

"We thought we didn't have any more chance of combining our family until she got pregnant again. Then Akiko came and we promised each other we will do our best to get you two together. As we all saw Kuon was really smitten by Akiko even from the beginning. After that meeting, Kuon kept asking me if we could bring Akiko home."

Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"So now can we watch the rest of the videos?" She pressed play again ignoring everyone around her.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Sorry everyone for the very late update. I've been busy preparing for a wedding. My sister got engage last feb and asked me to be her maid-of-honour. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Thank you to all who review and read my story.

[Type text]


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

Chapter 16

A/N: People requested that I post the rest of the videos so here they are: Hope you enjoy.

Kuu was holding the camera:

"Honey what are you doing?" She asked as she put her earrings on.

"Just checking if this still works sweetheart." He answered pointing the camcorder at her. "Say hi..."

"Hi." She said. "We're on our way to Tokyo to see our friends there..." She narrates. "It's going to be Akiko's first birthday and we are all excited." She smiled that the camera. "By the way where is Kuon?" she asked suddenly.

"Still in his room I think." Kuu answered.

"Can you please check on him honey?" she asked sweetly.

Kuu walked towards the door with the camera still recording.

"We're about to see what Kuon is doing." He said as he walk towards another door. He stopped. Pointed the camera at the 4 almost 5 year old blonde boy sitting on his bed with his backpack, deep in concentration.

"What are you doing Kuon?" He asked as he approached him.

The little boy looked up.

"I'm trying to find the safest place in my backpack to put Kiko's card."

"Oh! Did you make her a card? Can I see it?"

"But dad its Kiko's birthday card shouldn't she be the one to see it first?"

"You're right but Akiko lives in Japan so she would be thought Kanji and not the English alphabet. Did you write it in Kanji?" Kuu asked trying to trick his son into learning the language.

The little boy's face fell and he shook his head from side to side.

"Let me see the card so I can translate what it says in Kanji. We can fix it on the plane."

Kuon's smiled happily and lifted his creation to show his dad and the camera.

"This is me..." He pointed at the stick figure with short blonde hair and green eyes. "..and this is Kiko..." He pointed at another stick figure with pink triangle at the bottom. "...She's wearing a pink dress and holding a balloon." He pointed at the line with a circle at the end. "This is her cake." He pointed at the square. "...and her candle." He pointed at the rectangle on top of the square. "...and it says 'Hapi bertdey Kiko'" He concluded with a smile.

"That's a beautiful card Kuon. You're so talented."

Kuon beamed at his father's praise.

"But who help you spell those words?" Kuu asked.

"No one. I just sound it out. See ha-ha-ha is the sound for H and ah-ah-ah for A and pa-pa-pa for P and ee-ee-ee for I it spells Hapi." He said proudly.

"Very cleaver Kuon..."

"Hey you two, we have to go now." Julie said appearing at the door.

* * *

><p>Next scene.<p>

Kuu still holding the camera which is pointed at a banner that says 'Happy 1st Birthday Akiko'.

"Were here today at Akiko's first birthday party." He narrates. He turned slowly and focus on a group of ladies. He walked towards them.

"And here are Akiko's beautiful grandmothers. Have you got any message for our little princess?"

"Happy first Birthday Akiko. We love you!" the two ladies in their early fifties said.

Kuu turned to the other woman in the group.

"Aunt Yuko any message for your cute niece?"

"Akiko, my darling niece. Happy first birthday."

"Kuu, honey..." Julie tapped her husband on his shoulder. He turned and pointed the camera at her.

"And here is my lovely wife. Honey do you have any message for Akiko?"

"Happy birthday Akiko! I know that you will grow up into a fine lady and you will be the best daughter in the world." She smiled at the camera. "Kuu have you seen Kuon?"

"Find Akiko and you will find Kuon." Kuu answered. They both scan the room and surely enough they found the little boy kneeling on a chair facing Akiko. The younger girl was sitting in her highchair.

"Let me borrow that!" Julie said reaching for the camera. She then walked quickly to Akemi and the two kids.

"So what's happening here?" She asked Akemi, pointing the camera at her best friend.

"Our children are practicing feeding each other cake." She answered giggling.

"Oh?" Julie focus on the two kids who's mouths are covered with chocolate icing.

"What are you doing Honey?" She asked the little boy.

Kuon smiled showing a complete set of brown milk teeth.

"Kiko likes cakes mom..." He stated.

"Con, kek! Con kek!" as if on cue the little girl demanded.

The blonde boy scoop up a small piece of cake and fed it to the little girl.

"Hmmm yum!" the little girl said. Then she clumsily spoon some icing and raised her tiny arm.

Kuon guided the spoon into his mouth by holding her hand.

"Hmmmm yum!" he said.

Julie was so astonished that she nearly drop the camera. Her Kuon never like sweets, specially chocolate, but here he is willingly eating it.

"Well at least I can rest assured that you'll be eating with Akiko around. Good job Akiko!" She said patting the little girls head.

Both the adults laugh.

* * *

><p>Next scene.<p>

A five almost six year old boy was sitting on the plane seat busily drawing.

"Kuon, what are you doing?" Julie asked camera at hand.

"I'm making Kiko a card." he answered without looking up.

Julie focus the camera at what he was drawing.

"What are you drawing?" She asked.

"A castle." He answered picking up another colour pencil. "Kiko likes princes, princesses and fairies."

"Oh I see. And what's this?" Julie pointed at a small bluish stone on the table.

Kuon picked up the stone.

"This is a magic stone mummy. I got it when dad and I went to a magic shop. I'm giving it to Kiko as a birthday gift." he beamed.

"Oh honey, I think Akiko is still too young to receive a present like that."

Kuon's face fell.

"Sorry sweetie but maybe it's best for you to hold on to it until Akiko is old enough to have it."

Kuon is quite upset now.

"Honey if you want we can go shopping before Akiko's birthday and you can pick something for her. Maybe a fairytale book?"

Kuon thought about it for a bit then he said. "Can we buy her a fairy doll?"

"Sure honey. You can pick which ever you want to give her."

"Okey." He said turning back to his drawing.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

To all the people who are following, reading, leaving reviews and putting this story in their favs. Thank you. And thank you to all the people who congratulated my sister.


	18. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Skip Beat! Or any of its character.

Epilogue

"So you're saying Grandpa Kuon that Grandma Kiko is the only girl you ever loved?" Ren's seven year old granddaughter asked.

"Yes Hime-chan your grandmother was the only girl in my heart until your aunt Akemi came then you came and our little Julie here came. You're all the girls in my heart now but you're grandmother is my one true love." Ren smiled at his granddaughters.

"That's so sweet grandpa. When I grow up I want to find someone who will love me like the way you love grandma."

"I'm sure you will find him dear. Who wouldn't love a beautiful and caring girl like you?"

"Me, I want to be an actress like grandma and aunt Akemi when I grow up." The five year old Julie who was named after her great grandmother said.

"I'm sure you will be a great actress Julie-chan, after all being a talented actress is in your blood. You're great great grandmother Junko was an actress. You're great grandfather Kuu was an actor. You're grandma Akiko is one of the best actress among the best.

"You're just bias dear." Kyoko said as she entered the room. She gave him a peck on his cheek. "Diner is ready everyone."

"No, not bias. Just telling them the truth." Ren said as he pulled Kyoko on the couch next to him.

"I'm Home!" a tall, beautiful woman said as she entered the living room. Her green eyes shone as she smiled at her family.

"Aunt Akemi you're back!" Julie said as she ran towards the raven haired beauty followed by her older sister and her three year old brother.

"Hello there." Akemi bent down and gave each her nieces and nephew a hug and a kiss. "How are my pretty nieces and cute nephew?"

"We're fine. Grandpa was just telling us stories about how grandma found her family" Julie answered.

"And how they got together. It was so romantic like a fairytale. With Grandpa as fairy prince and Grandma as the princess. I want to have a story like theirs." Hime added.

"Those were my favourite stories too." Akemi picked up her nephew and led the girls back to their waiting family. She sat the little boy on his father's lap.

"Hello Onii-chan. Where's my sister-in-law?"

"Emi welcome back!" Hizuri Kei said as he gave his baby sister a hug. "She's got an interview with Vogue magazine right now but she'll be here later."

"Hello Okaa-san, hello Otuo-san Happy 35th Anniversary" She kissed her parents.

"Emi, welcome home." Kyoko hugged her daughter. "I've missed you so much. Why didn't you tell us you're coming home today?"

"I wanted to surprise you. Do you really think I'd miss your anniversary?"

"Welcome home baby." Ren said.

"Otou-san I'm 25 years old I'm not a baby anymore." She protested with a smile.

"It doesn't matter whether your 5 or 25 or 105, you'll always be my baby girl." Ren said. Akemi stuck her tongue out and everyone laughed.

"Alright everyone Okaa-san said dinner is ready so we better get to it." Akemi took hold of her nieces' hands and led them to the dining room followed by Kei and his son.

"Of course food is the first thing in your mind Emi. I swear you eat more than Grandpa Kuu!" Kei said as he followed his sister.

Ren and Kyoko got up and he put his arm around his wife.

"Happy anniversary Corn. Thank you for giving me a wonderful family." Kyoko stood on her tiptoes and gave Ren a peck on the cheek.

"No sweetheart, thank you for giving me the best years of my life." He leaned down and gave her a sweet passionate kiss.

"Hey you two!" Akemi said standing at the entrance of the dining room. "Stop acting like teenagers stealing kisses from each other when no one's looking. Dinner's getting cold."

She laughed when her parents blushed.

The two older Hizuri walked pass Akemi to start the dinner celebration of another year of their lives together with their loving family.

'Hime-chan I also want what they have. A happy ever after.' She thought before following her parents into the dining room where the rest of their family's waiting.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Finally done! I'm glad I finished it.

Thank you to all that read and review this fanfic. You're the ones that encourage me to write this.

Here's a brief explanation of Kyoko and Ren's family tree for this story.

They had two children:

Son- Hizuri Kei. He's 33 years old. He has blonde hair and golden eyes. He's married to Kanae's daughter. They have three kids Reina (7), Julie (5) and Ren (3). He manages the Yakiko resort and all of Kyoko's inheritance from her father.

Daughter- Hizuri Akemi. She's 25 years old. Named after her grandmother -Kyoko's real mum- She has raven hair and Kuon's eyes. She also inherited Kuu's eating habit. She's an actress/model like her parents.


End file.
